The endowed chair is made possible by a major gift to USC from the Annenberg Foundation in honor of Dean Cowan, who has announced his plans to retire as dean of the USC Annenberg School at the conclusion of his second term in June 2007.

The grant to establish the Annenberg Family Chair at the USC Annenberg School is part of a $6 million gift made at the direction of foundation trustees Leonore Annenberg, Wallis Annenberg, Lauren Bon, Charles Annenberg Weingarten and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten.

“Over the years the Annenberg Foundation and its trustees have been steadfast partners of the University of Southern California, not only keenly attuned to the needs of our students and faculty, but visionary about the ways scholarly investigation can address challenges facing our society,” said USC President Steven B. Sample.  “The Foundation's gift is a timely catalyst that will further invigorate USC's unparalleled strengths in communication and that will duly honor the exceptional talents of Dean Geoffrey Cowan.”

In addition to endowing the faculty chair, the gift provides funding to support a variety of research projects and programmatic activities under Cowan's direction which will be known as the Center on Communication Leadership.

“We deeply appreciate and admire Geoff Cowan's leadership of the USC Annenberg School over the past decade,” said Wallis Annenberg, vice president of the Annenberg Foundation and USC trustee. “The Annenberg Foundation is pleased to be supporting an endowed chair in Communication Leadership and to be funding other programs and research that will continue to build understanding and applications about communication. Along with my fellow trustees, I am very pleased that Geoff's work to advance the understanding and practice of communication as a force for public good will continue at USC and the Annenberg School.”

“Dean Cowan has helped carry forward the communication revolution in remarkable ways,” said USC provost C.L. Max Nikias. “In the process he has moved the Annenberg School to the top in its field. We are delighted that Geoff's plans will allow him to exercise his considerable talents in the ongoing advancement of USC and the Annenberg School.”

Under Dean Cowan's leadership, the Annenberg School's faculty and student body have grown dramatically in size and quality. Enrollment now totals more than 1,900 students pursuing undergraduate, master's and doctoral degrees. He led the school to launch new degree programs including a joint master's program with the London School of Economics; the world's first master's in public diplomacy offered in concert with USC College's School of International Relations; a new master's degree in specialized journalism that is under development; and the new Charles Annenberg Weingarten Program in Online Communities.

Financially, the USC Annenberg School has never been stronger. In addition to increased student demand, the School's endowment has grown from $5 million to more than $180 million during Cowan's tenure. Sponsored research grants have risen from $500,000 to more than $6 million annually.

Numerous major funded programs have been established at the School through Cowan's efforts, including the Norman Lear Center, the USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, the Knight New Media Center, the Metamorphosis project, the Institute for Justice and Journalism, and many others.

“I have always considered the Annenberg School fortunate to be guided by the mission statement articulated by Ambassador Walter Annenberg, who said that ‘to be of service to all people is the enduring mission of this School,'” Cowan said. “I am profoundly moved and honored by the extraordinary generosity and continued commitment to this institution by the Annenberg family. Being a part of this enterprise has been an enormously fulfilling professional experience. I look forward to continuing to work with the Annenberg Foundation and my colleagues at USC to realize Ambassador Annenberg's vision for this School.”

After serving as director of the Voice of America during the Clinton administration, Geoffrey Cowan became dean of the USC Annenberg School in 1996. Previously, he served more than two decades as an award-winning teacher of communication law and policy at UCLA. He is a playwright, best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning television producer. His award-winning play on government secrecy and press freedom, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, will be performed across the country during the 2007-08 season.

At the conclusion of his term as dean, Cowan will embark on a year-long sabbatical to undertake a number of projects and serve as a fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics & Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.  During that time, he will launch a new project exploring future business models for news (in collaboration with Orville Schell, dean of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism); begin work on a book on Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 presidential campaign and its influence on modern politics; and, continuing his efforts to foster scholarship in the field of public diplomacy, he will serve as guest editor of an upcoming volume of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

The Annenberg Foundation exists to advance the public well-being through improved communication. As the principal means of achieving its goal, the Foundation encourages the development of more effective ways to share ideas and knowledge. The Annenberg Foundation has offices in Radnor, PA and Los Angeles, CA. www.annenbergfoundation.org.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation's leading institutions devoted to the study of public relations, journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,900 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in journalism, communication and public relations.

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