2021 President's Report

Maritza Johnson, PhD, was named director of a new center focused on data science, artificial intelligence and society. In this pioneering role, Johnson will be responsible for developing the center. She is a widely respected data privacy and security professional who joins USD from Google, where she was most recently a senior user experience researcher.

The University of San Diego was proud to be ranked the highest university in the nation by Washington Monthly for its commitment to public service. “We fully embrace our role in preparing the next generation of civic leaders who are also compassionate citizens,” said USD President James Harris. USD remained in the top five for this category for 2021. Find a complete list of current rankings here.

For 28 years, the annual All Faith Service has been a beacon of hope, an opportunity for the campus and San Diego community to come together for interfaith dialogue. The 2021 event, Embracing Hope: Our Journey to Healing, featured highlights from the past as well as new messaging, uniquely created for the world we live in today.

USD’s Bernie Bickerstaff Diversity and Inclusion Fund will be used to enhance and expand diversity and inclusion education and training for staff, administrators and students, and to seed initiatives and programs developed to support USD scholar-athletes. The fund is named for the university’s first Black head coach.

Over the past decade, few college programs have sent more players to the professional level than San Diego baseball. USD has had 61 players selected in the MLB Draft over the past 10 years, ranking the program No. 16 nationally and first among non-Power Five teams in that span.

From sunny San Diego to the windswept Martian landscape, Amanda Gates ’16 (BS/BA) is charting her own path. A nuclear research engineer with the United States Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Gates has literally seen her career soar.

USD broke ground on a facility that represents the future of business education — the 72,000-sq.-ft. state-of-the-art Knauss Center for Business Education. When completed, the complex will total 120,000 square feet and will unify the School of Business’ academic programs, centers and institutes under one roof. It is planned to open for classes in fall 2022.

USD’s multi-year, comprehensive and strategic initiative for diversity, equity and inclusion, the Horizon Project, was announced by President James T. Harris, DEd. It outlines the immediate, concrete and material steps that the university will take to ensure that inclusive excellence efforts are unequivocally woven into the fabric of the institution.

The Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) named Gail F. Baker, PhD, USD’s vice president of academic affairs and provost, as the new president of the organization. Her term will span 2021-22. “I am honored to lead this organization at a time when the role of the provost is growing in complexity,” said Baker, who has more than 30 years of experience in higher education and has held the role of provost at USD since 2017.

Regina Dixon-Reeves, PhD, was named as the university’s vice provost for diversity, equity and inclusion. In this role, Dixon-Reeves will shape, define and build upon the university’s institutional core values by developing and implementing a strategic plan that will strengthen and achieve USD’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.

USD’s complete website redesign and overhaul, known as USD 2.0, saw its latest milestone: the launch of the new College of Arts and Sciences website, The new site took 19 departments that cover 29 majors, 37 minors, three graduate programs, five centers and countless resources and initiatives and combined it all into a tidy package of 600 web pages, down nearly 1,000 pages from the previous site.

This spring, a spacious campus meeting room was transformed into a well-organized clothing boutique for students to “shop” for professional attire, thanks to the generosity of donors. The Torero Closet was staffed by members of the Parent Advisory Board, who helped advise students on clothing section for a professional look and arranged for complimentary alterations if needed.

Charlotte Johnson, JD, was named USD’s new vice president for student affairs. Johnson has served as a thought leader and change agent for some of the most salient issues in higher education, including inclusion and access, sexual assault on college campuses and campus climate/support of marginalized student populations.

USD’s Judy Lewis Logue Alcalá Chapter of Mortar Board was recognized by the National Office of Mortar Board with the Ruth Weimer Mount Chapter Excellence Award, the highest honor awarded each year to one chapter for performing with excellence in chapter operations, advising, visibility, communications, and participation.

A Harry Potter-themed STEAM Forest School was hosted by USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering to offer summer enrichment classes for San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) students. Caroline Baillie, PhD, professor of practice in engineering and social justice, was the organizer for the week-long event and has long been an advocate of the nature-based pedagogy known as forest school.

USD has earned a STARS gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in recognition of campus sustainability achievements. The gold rating reaffirms the university’s commitment to care for our common home. USD offers nearly 400 courses addressing sustainability concepts, and has set goals for reducing the university's greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2035.

Andrew Nosal, adjunct assistant professor of environmental and ocean sciences at USD, was featured in an episode of the National Geographic Channel program, When Sharks Attack. The episode highlighting his work is called “Chaos in California” and focuses on a mysterious increase in shark bites around San Diego in 2009. He says that the presence of sharks is “a sign that the marine environment is healthy and balanced.”

Book enthusiasts came together virtually for the USD-sponsored San Diego Union-Tribune Festival of Books. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Noelle Norton, PhD, moderated two of the four panels. Additionally, professors from the departments of English; languages, cultures and literatures; communication studies; mathematics and sociology took part in virtual sessions that addressed topics ranging from the immigration debate to understanding storytelling.

A celebration was held to mark the completion of the renovation of Camino, Founders and Sacred Heart Halls. A ribbon cutting and remarks preceded tours for parents, prospective students, faculty and staff. Major changes include dedicated space for theater and visual arts students, a lab for communication studies students, and more., marking a major milestone in USD’s 10-year Renaissance Plan.

Kelly Metz-Matthews was selected for a prestigious virtual fellowship with the U.S. State Department. She will be engaging with English language learners and faculty at the National University of Science and Technology in Moscow, Russia. Metz-Matthews is among the first to be selected for the Virtual English Language Fellow Program — a program first launched in the 2020-2021 academic year.

USD offers one of the nation's top green MBAs , according to The Princeton Review. The education services company chose the USD School of Business for the list Best Green MBAs, appearing at #7 in the nation and #1 in California. "The USD School of Business is committed to business stewardship of the world,” said Knauss School of Business Dean Timothy Keane.

The new Learning Commons and the renovated Helen K. and James S. Copley Library were officially opened this fall. The two-story Learning Commons, which houses the USD Writing Center and the Honors Program offices, is 36,000 square feet of classroom and collaborative spaces that provide students with places to study and connect. Copley Library now features a multitude of study areas and new seating.

This fall, a festive scene greeted students as booths filled Paseo de Colachis. A tradition that kicks off each semester, the Alcalá Bazaar gives students the chance to discover the many opportunities and resources available to them on- and off-campus, including student organizations, university centers, local vendors and more. This year, the event served as an opportunity for students to reconnect after being apart for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Oct. 13, USD made a bold and decisive move toward advancing that exploration by signing a commitment to officially become a University of Laudato Sí, calling upon the Torero community to join in the global dialogue to discuss the ways our actions and decisions impact the planet. The Board of Trustees amended the university’s investment strategy to be in full alignment with Laudato Sí, one of the first in the world to do so.

Supporters from around the world joined together to ride a wave of giving and make an impact at the University of San Diego during the sixth annual Torero Tuesday. USD's largest day of giving saw more than $1,125,000 raised through more than 2,200 generous gifts. The overall total was enhanced by $112,500 in bonus funds thanks to the generosity of Karen and Tom Mulvaney '77 and USD Trustee David Hale. The gifts received will go toward academic and extracurricular programs, athletics and scholarships.

The Tijuana HUB is a new multi-purpose space housed at the Business Innovation and Technology Center for USD students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners to collaborate directly with Tijuana partners on projects, deepening the university’s history of community engagement in the region. The purpose of the Tijuana HUB will be to facilitate and improve cross-border collaboration in entrepreneurship business, education, arts, human rights and other areas integral to the advancement of economic development and social justice.

USD’s School of Law celebrated the legal clinics’ 50th anniversary in November. These experience-based legal clinics allow upper-division, graduate-level law students to provide free legal services to low-income people while providing students with an opportunity to make a difference in the community.

On November 13, Petco Park was the site of USD’s Founders Gala, “Field of Dreams.” More than 600 guests enjoyed the evening, which featured a live auction, raffle, and a Fund-A-Torero paddle raise to benefit the Founders Endowed Scholarship Fund. The evening raised $2.3 million for students in need. A particularly impactful moment came when USD trustees Mike Persall ’02 (BAC) and Chair Emerita Darlene Marcos Shiley each donated $500,000 to the fund.

In December, it was announced that USD Board Chairman Don Knauss, and his wife, Ellie, increased their philanthropic giving to the university to total $50 million. These generous gifts have resulted in the creation of the Knauss School of Business, as well as the new building in which it will be housed, the Knauss Center for Business Education. “We really believe wholeheartedly in the mission of the school,” said Don at an event announcing the gift.