USC Sol Price School of Public Policy

The USC Sol Price School of Public Policy^[1] (USC Price), previously known as School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), at the University of Southern California is a leading urban planning, public policy and public administration school in the United States.^[2] USC Price offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including a doctoral program and several professional and executive master's degree programs.^[3] USC Price also offers Master of Public Administration and Master of Health Administration programs at a campus in Sacramento.^[4]

History

Urban planning classes were first delivered at USC in 1921 by Gordon Whitnall, who was instrumental in founding the Planning Commission of the City of Los Angeles. In 1929, the USC School of Citizenship and Public Administration opened its doors, becoming one of only two programs of its kind in the nation. The school did not resemble very much the larger complex school it is today, but it contained the seeds of what is currently the modern USC Price.

In addition to offering a degree in public administration, the School of Citizenship and Public Administration included classes in urban and regional planning from the outset, which eventually led to the urban and regional planning degree and school at USC. Over time, the School of Public Administration formed the health administration program and the public policy program.^[5]

In 1955, the School of Public Administration and the School of Architecture and Fine Arts instituted a graduate program in city and regional planning. The graduate planning program grew into an independent academic unit in the 1960s. In 1971, the Irvine Foundation gave its first USC grant to establish an endowed chair in urban and regional planning. In 1974, the USC Board of Trustees merged the Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning with the Center for Urban Studies to create the School of Planning and Urban Studies, subsequently the School of Urban and Regional Planning, the first planning program in the nation to achieve status as an independent school. The Irvine foundation provided the new school with an additional endowment for the support of graduate students.^[6] The school's undergraduate program was offered jointly with the School of Public Administration.

The School of Urban and Regional Planning formed a graduate program in real estate development in 1985, and founded the Lusk Center for Real Estate Development in 1988 with a generous gift from John Lusk and his family. The school also launched a new undergraduate program to compliment its existing program with the School of Public Administration. A gift from Ralph Lewis and his wife Goldy, the co-founders of Lewis Homes,^[7] enabled the School to break ground for a new building on May 24, 1995, USC's Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall.^[8] The School was renamed the School of Urban Planning and Development in 1996; and in 1998, the USC Board of Trustees merged the School of Urban Planning and Development with the School of Public Administration to form the School of Policy, Planning, and Development. The Lusk Center for Real Estate Development was reorganized into Lusk Center for Real Estate, a university-level research unit jointly administered by USC Price and the USC Marshall School of Business.^[9][10]

In November 2011, the Price Family Charitable Fund gave a $50 million naming gift to honor the life and legacy of USC alumnus Sol Price, founder of Price Club.^[11] The school was renamed the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy with the shortened name of USC Price.^[1]

Rankings

For 2011, USC Price is currently ranked #1 in the United States among "The 10 Best Graduate Programs" for Urban Planning, according to TheBestColleges.org.^[12]

USC Price is ranked #7 in the United States among "America's Best Graduate Schools" for Public Affairs, according to U.S. News & World Report.^[2]

USC Price is also ranked #7 for its graduate Urban Planning program by Planetizen's "The Top Schools For Urban Planners" (2012 Guide - Top 10 Planning Programs) in 2011.^[13]

U.S. News & World Report also ranks USC Price as:

• #4 in city management and urban policy^[14]
• #5 in public management and administration^[15]
• #7 in nonprofit management^[16]
• #9 in health policy and management^[17]
• #10 in social policy^[18]

Programs of Study

USC Price currently offers:

• Four doctorate programs:
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Management (Ph.D.)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Development (Ph.D.)
  • Doctor of Philosophy in Policy, Planning, and Development (Ph.D.)
  • Doctor of Policy, Planning, and Development (DPPD)
• Five master's degree programs:
  • Master of Public Policy (MPP)
  • Master of Public Administration (MPA)
  • Master of Planning (MPL)
  • Master of Real Estate Development (MRED)
  • Master of Health Administration (MHA)
• Three executive master's degrees:
  • Master of International Public Policy and Management (IPPAM)
  • Executive Master of Health Administration (EMHA)
  • Executive Master of Leadership (EML)
• One undergraduate degree:
  • Bachelor of Science in Public Policy, Management, and Planning

Research Centers

• Judith and John Bedrosian Center on Governance and the Public Enterprise
• Center for Economic Development
• Center for Health Financing, Policy and Management
• Center for Sustainable Cities
• Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy
• Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration
• Civic Engagement Initiative
• Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE)
• Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy
• Lusk Center for Real Estate
• METRANS Transportation Center
• Population Dynamics Group
• Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
• Tomás Rivera Policy Institute

Notable alumni

• Marouf al-Bakhit (M.P.A. 1982), 69th Prime Minister of Jordan
• Leroy D. Baca (M.P.A. 1973, D.P.A. 1993), Sheriff of Los Angeles County
• Vecdi Gönül (M.P.A. 1970), 62nd Minister of Defence of Turkey and Member of Parliament for Kocaeli
• Adam Herbert (B.A. 1966, M.P.A. 1968), President of Indiana University
• Arif Jatoi (M.P.A. 1989), Minister for Food and Agriculture 2002–2005 [1], Government of Sindh, Pakistan and Member of Parliament 2002–[2]
• Sheila M. Kiscaden (M.P.A. 1986), Minnesota State Senator
• Joyce L. Kennard (B.A. 1970, M.P.A. 1974, J.D. 1974), First Asian-American to serve as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
• Tim Leslie (M.P.A. 1969), California State Senator
• Dennis J. Murray (M.P.A. 1971, Ph.D. 1977), President of Marist College
• Edward J. Perkins (M.P.A. 1972, Ph.D. 1976), former U.S. Ambassador to Australia, South Africa, and the United Nations
• Rocky Seto (M.P.A. 2001), defensive quality control coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks
• Hilda Solis (M.P.A. 1981), United States Secretary of Labor, former United States Congresswoman
• Erroll Southers (M.P.A. 1998), leading national expert in transportation security and counter terrorism
• Karl Warkomski (M.P.A. 1995), former Mayor of Aliso Viejo, California
• Michael L. Williams (B.A. 1975, M.P.A. 1979, J.D. 1979), senior commissioner of the Railroad Commission of Texas
• Tomás Yarrington (M.P.A. 1986), former Governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico

Notable faculty

• Dana Goldman, professor of health and economic policy and director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics
• Richard K. Green, professor and director of Lusk Center for Real Estate
• Houston I. Flournoy, former California State Controller and former Professor of Public Administration
• William Fulton (urban planner), senior fellow and mayor of Ventura, California
• Daniel McFadden, USC Presidential Professor of health economics
• Dowell Myers, professor of urban planning and demography and director of the Population and Dynamics Research Group center
• Kevin Starr, professor of history and former California State Librarian

References

External links

• USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development
• USC SPPD in Sacramento