Right now, at USC we are focusing on revitalizing our culture. For the first time in USC’s history, we are inviting the entire community to co-create USC’s values and subsequently bring those values to life. We are referring to this initiative as a journey, because transforming and improving our culture does not happen overnight, nor does it have a clearly defined end. It continues to build on shaping and improving our University-wide systems, people, and processes.
The journey has some important milestones that include everyone:
- July 2019 – October 2019: The journey starts with building awareness. The Culture Journey program team has been meeting with leaders and presenting across USC at faculty, staff, and student meetings.
- October 2019: You will be invited to share your voice through a USC Cultural Values Poll. The poll includes five questions focused on values: personal and USC-wide values you currently experience and your desired vision for the future.
- January 2020 – May 2020: The Cultural Values Poll is just the beginning of the journey. The next milestone will be the Culture Sessions – town halls and discussion sessions in early 2020 will provide an opportunity for the USC community to learn the results of the Cultural Values Poll and express to leaders their feedback on desired values and behaviors.
- June 2020 and Beyond: The Journey continues. Aligning on values and behaviors is only meaningful if it informs overall improvement of university-wide systems, processes, and our people. This part of the journey involves action planning at the leadership level and linking to our other critical pieces of culture that have been part of the discussion at USC for a few years: wellness, concerns, and leadership development.