USC

USC set to open a campus on the Capital

The university is expanding to Washington, D.C. with what officials refer to as ‘a coast-to-coast bridge.’

The White House is seen from the Ellipse in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

By Isa Johnson and Taylor Marie Contarino

USC is opening a “Capital Campus” in Washington, D.C., the university announced Wednesday. In an effort to optimize its national outreach, the university will utilize the additional campus in hopes of potentially expanding its East Coast audience, and further its extensive and robust research capabilities.

“Today, USC has a new home in Washington, D.C. We are significantly expanding our academic excellence and innovative research on the East Coast,” USC President Carol L. Folt said.

Folt also added that Washington, D.C., “is the natural place for us [USC] to establish a thriving hub.”

The university intends to use the space to “convene high-level conversations with national and global opinion leaders on the most pressing issues of the day,” according to a release from USC News.

Ishwar K. Puri, USC’s senior vice president for research and innovation, said he is encouraged by the opportunity the new Capital Campus offers in terms of research opportunities.

“This presence in our nation’s capital will significantly increase opportunities for our researchers to influence the many important national conversations on urgent topics that require immediate attention,” Puri said. “In such fields as sustainability, media, culture, AI and health care, our scholars can bring to bear the full strength of our diverse disciplines to Washington, D.C.”

USC’s Capital Campus will offer a “laboratory from which students can learn from policymakers, study how our government works (or doesn’t in some cases), and research ways to strengthen our democracy,” according to Dana Goldman, dean of the USC Price School of Public Policy.

The new 60,000-square-foot campus is in the Dupont Circle neighborhood, at 1771 N St. NW. Originally, the property had been owned by the National Association of Broadcasters and was sold to Stream Realty Partners and has now been purchased and modernized by the university to accommodate a campus community according to Commercial Property Executive.

The campus is equipped with multiple classrooms and study areas, with future plans for a theater, a USC bookstore and multiple other enhancements on the horizon, according to the release.

When it comes to alumni relations, the new campus is the perfect setting to facilitate post-graduate connections and outreach on the East Coast.

According to the university, the new space will establish an “eastern hub for teaching, research, lobbying, recruiting, alumni networking and community outreach.”

Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, D.C., said she is excited by the prospects the establishment of the campus offers to the city.

“The new campus fits into D.C.’s Comeback Plan as we emphasize the strong presence of ‘Feds, Eds and Meds’ in the district,” Bowser said.

Not only will the new campus boost alumni relations and student opportunities, but it will also allow the Trojan Family to reach a different community of prospective students in a brand new way.