William C. Allen Joins Board of Trustees

WILLIAM C. ALLEN, television industry executive and president and chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, has been elected to the board of trustees.

In announcing Allen’s election, President Steven B. Sample said: “Bill Allen offers everything that we look for in a USC trustee. He is a major contributor to his profession, a noted civic leader and a person with a deep concern for this university and its mission. As someone who is heavily involved in the worlds of entertainment and commerce, Bill has still remained an energetic and dedicated alumnus of USC. We look forward to his leadership as a trustee.”

As president and CEO of the Economic Alliance – a nonprofit corporation formed as a strategic partnership of prominent San Fernando Valley business leaders and their organizations – Allen oversees the activities of numerous local business associations, including the United Chambers of Commerce, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, the Valley Economic Development Center and the Small Manufacturers Association.

Allen is also a member of the board of directors of the alliance, co-chair of its Valley Image Committee and an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the San Fernando Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The son of television pioneers Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, he recently wrote and executive-produced “Steve Allen’s 75th Birthday Celebration” for public television.

From 1992 to 1995, Allen was president of MTM Television and a member of its board of directors, expanding the company’s program development and production to include not only series for network television, but first-run syndication and cable as well.

From 1986 to 1998, he was senior vice president, overseeing the production of such popular series as “Remington Steele,” “St. Elsewhere” and “Newhart.” In 1988 he was promoted to executive vice president with responsibility for all creative affairs of the company, and developed the popular CBS comedy series “Evening Shade.” During his tenure with MTM, Allen supervised the development and production of nearly 600 episodes of television programming.

ALLEN BEGAN HIS career in television in 1979 at CBS as an executive trainee in programming, sales, marketing, research and affiliate relations. In his seven years with CBS, he also served as an associate program executive in the comedy series programming department, and as manager, and later director, of the CBS comedy programming development department, where he supervised the development of such successful CBS series as “Crazy Like a Fox” and “Designing Women.”

In 1995 Allen received the Vision Award for Creativity and Insight and the Templeton Prize for Inspiring Television for his work on the critically acclaimed CBS drama “Christy.”

Allen is chair of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a post he has held since 1995, and co-chair of the National Council for Families and Television.

In June of 1997, the General Alumni Association named Allen its president-elect. He has served on the GAA’s board of governors since 1995, chairing the board’s business development committee. The GAA represents more than 240,000 USC alumni through- out the world. Allen will assume the role of president this June.

He is a member of the USC Associates and is a co-founder of the Junior Associates Program and the Cinema Associates.

Allen earned his bachelor’s degree in cinema-television production from the School of Cinema-Television in 1979 and was inducted into the honor society Skull and Dagger. As a student he produced the 25th anniversary Songfest, which drew more than 8,000 people to the Hollywood Bowl in 1978. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University in 1983.

Allen and his wife, Marie, a 1978 graduate of USC’s Marshall School of Business, have three children, Bradley, Bobby and Amanda.