Adam Clayton Powell III Named USC Vice Provost for Globalization

On behalf of University of Southern California President Steven B. Sample, Provost C.L. Max Nikias has announced the appointment of Adam Clayton Powell III as vice provost for globalization, effective June 1, 2007.

Powell replaces James Ellis, who now serves as dean of the USC Marshall School of Business.

In the position, Powell will work closely with USC deans and faculty to continue to expand USC’s international presence, increase the university’s leadership role in the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, and promote the university throughout the world.

“Powell’s background and international experiences give him a unique perspective on the complexities of globalization,” said Nikias. “I am confident this will prove invaluable in his work as vice provost for globalization.”

Currently, Powell serves as director of the USC Integrated Media Systems Center, the National Science Foundation’s research center for multimedia research. He is also a senior fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, which is housed in the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

Powell’s international accomplishments include creating and implementing training programs and forums on digital media for the Freedom Forum, where he ultimately served as vice president. The initiative was designed for public policy leaders and researchers in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

As a consultant, Powell for many years provided media services for clients in the United States and overseas. He worked on projects in South Africa for the Ford Foundation, as well as projects for the Nigerian Television Authority. He also helped create the annual Highway Africa conference in South Africa, which has become the largest conference in communications and digital media on the African continent.

Powell is widely published, and many of his writings draw on his significant international experience. This past year, he contributed a chapter to America’s Dialogue with the World and published a book entitled Reinventing Local News: Connecting with Communities Using New Technologies.

USC’s Global Presence

The University of Southern California has for many years enrolled the largest number of international students of any American university; for fall 2006, the university enrolled more than 7,100 students from 114 countries. USC now boasts more than 20,000 international alumni.

USC is currently building on its significant global presence to increase its international visibility and reach and maximize the impact of its research, scholarship, art, education and service.

Last summer, the USC Board of Trustees made a pioneering trip to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, where they met with Chinese government officials, key university leaders and USC alumni.

In October 2006, the university announced the creation of the USC U.S.-China Institute, which encourages units across the university to advance existing China-focused projects and to initiate new ones.

In addition, the university has representative offices in Hong Kong, Mexico City, Taipei and Tokyo.

About Adam Clayton Powell III

Prior to joining the USC faculty in 2003, Powell was general manager of WHUT-TV, the nation’s first African American-owned public television station. He also was the founding general manager of KMTP-TV in San Francisco, the nation’s second African American-owned public television station, which he helped put on the air in 1991.

Powell has also served as an executive producer at Quincy Jones Entertainment; vice president for news and information programming at National Public Radio; manager of network radio and television news for CBS News; and news director of all-news WINS in New York.

Powell has written for a number of publications, including The New York Times, Wired and Online Journalism Review. He has won numerous awards, including the 1999 World Technology Award for Media and Journalism, sponsored by The Economist, and the Overseas Press Club Award for international reporting for a series of broadcasts on Iran.

Contact: Orli Belman at (213) 740-0252 or obelman@usc.edu