USC Receives Record $200 Million Historic Donation

May 5，the University of Southern California announced a transformational initiative that will leverage AI to accelerate innovation, breakthroughs and discovery across USC, including in the health sciences, security, business and the arts.

Launched with a $200 million gift from legendary venture capitalist, NVIDIA board member and USC Trustee Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, this new universitywide effort will recruit world-class AI researchers seeking to expand the frontiers of knowledge, develop new therapeutics, enhance our security, transform the world of business and enhance human creativity.

In recognition of their generosity and vision, the USC School of Advanced Computing, which sits within the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, will be renamed the USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.

“As AI becomes ever more powerful, it creates enormous opportunities to improve lives and solve some of our greatest challenges, if used the right way,” USC President Beong-Soo Kim said. “Mark and Mary Stevens’ generosity will allow USC to leverage our existing interdisciplinary strengths and capitalize on these new opportunities at a critical inflection point for our society. As a top destination for AI talent, USC can accelerate our mission of educating future leaders, addressing real-world problems and enhancing human values and agency.”

USC already ranks in the top five in federal research support in areas related to computer science and offers more than 30 AI- and computing-related majors, minors and graduate degree programs that enroll thousands of students, with a new Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence being introduced this fall. After graduation, Trojan alumni are leading the AI era: USC is the nation’s top producer of computer and information sciences graduates and the second-most common alma mater in Silicon Valley.

Today, USC researchers, faculty and students are using AI to better understand and treat neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, prevent suicides among college students and active-duty military members, and create high-tech, interactive virtual settings for film, TV and games.

The newly named USC Mark and Mary Stevens School of Computing and Artificial Intelligence is the university’s nexus for interdisciplinary research, teaching and innovation in AI. The school was established in 2024 with a founding investment from the Lord Foundation of California and the opening of the award-winning Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Hall.

Because of the USC Stevens School’s unique interdisciplinary model, the Stevenses’ investment will power research and education across the university. Their gift will scale existing efforts like those in the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, where researchers are using AI to analyze thousands of brain scans and uncover the genetic patterns that help diagnose neurodegenerative diseases early, and the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, a University Affiliated Research Center of the U.S. Army that uses cutting-edge AI for military applications such as safe, immersive training.

Interdisciplinary faculty expertise has also been key to launching efforts like USC’s new degree in Artificial Intelligence for Business, which trains students to bring the power of AI into business settings and applications; the USC Institute on Ethics and Trust in Computing, which connects USC philosophers, computer scientists, journalists, doctors, policymakers and others to explore how society can balance innovation with the responsible use of AI; and the USC Center for AI in Society, one of the first “AI for Good” centers, which focuses on the use of computing to support vulnerable people and communities.

AI is even supporting students’ creative work in places like USC’s No. 1-ranked game design program as well as the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where emerging filmmakers use cutting-edge technologies to film with virtual production.

About USC: Founded in 1880, the University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading academic research institutions with 23 schools, a multi-billion-dollar health enterprise and a vast research and development engine. The university enrolls 46,000 highly accomplished undergraduate and graduate students and employs 4,600 faculty who are members of major national academies, and MacArthur, Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winners, among many others. USC has a nationally recognized athletic program and a passionate global network of 500,000 alumni — the Trojan Family. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, USC is a powerhouse of innovation and impact with a global reach.