Just as the Volkswagon emissions scandal has brought concerns around leadership and ethics to the fore once again, a $10 million gift to the USC Marshall School of Business will endow a new institute to examine those very issues.
USC Trustee Jerry Neely ’58 and his wife, Nancy ’61, made the gift to the school to create the Neely Leadership and Ethics Institute, designed to “advance the development of ethical business leadership within the framework of the global economy,” according to an article published last week in USC News.
Marshall reports that its students already flock to leadership and ethics topics, and the new institute will help bring together faculty from across the university to make sure that these subjects are a foundational part of the business curriculum, not only for degree students but also for professionals in the executive education and certificate programs offered by the school.
“The creation of this center of excellence will enable the launch of a suite of innovative new programs to bring together the best students, researchers and thought leaders in the field,” USC Marshall Dean James G. Ellis said as part of the USC News article.
The Neelys were praised by Ellis and USC President C. L. Max Nikias for their commitment to both the school and to nurturing the development of ethical leaders. “Their outstanding gift will dramatically bolster USC Marshall’s work in the area of leadership and ethics studies,” Nikias told USC News. “The institute will be a living laboratory for understanding ethical leadership and finding new ways to develop it,” he added.
“The creation of this center of excellence will enable the launch of a suite of innovative new programs to bring together the best students, researchers and thought leaders in the field,” Ellis added.
James O’Toole, a world-renowned expert in the areas of leadership and ethics, has been appointed director of the new institute. He will help lead the institute in promoting the research, study, reflection and understanding of ethical leadership. These efforts are part of an overarching goal to meet the challenges of increasing global awareness, diversity and integrity in today’s business environment, the school reports.
LONG HISTORY OF SUPPORTING USC
The Neelys’ generous support of USC dates back more than 40 years, and the university campus is already home to the Jerry and Nancy Neely Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Building. (Jerry Neely is the former chairman and CEO of oil services company Smith International Inc.)
The Neelys also endowed the Jerry and Nancy Neely Chair in American Enterprise at USC Marshall in 2000, and in 2006 they endowed a second chair, the Jerry and Nancy Neely Chair in Business Administration. They have also long supported the USC Roski School of Art and Design.
Jerry Neely has given more than money to his alma mater over the years, USC News reports. For many years he also served as a mentor to USC Marshall MBA students, leading to the reinvigoration of a campus mentoring program.
“I cherish my work with the outstanding students at USC Marshall,” Jerry Neely told USC News. “They are bright, insightful and want to make a difference in the world,” he added. The Neelys’ most recent $10 million gift supports the ongoing Campaign for the University of Southern California, which so far has raised more than $4.5 billion in private philanthropy toward a $6 billion goal, part of a multi-year effort to advance USC’s academic priorities and expand its impact on the community and world.
Learn more about the Neely Leadership and Ethics Institute at USC Marshall.
