USC Rossier School of Education

06/02/2026

Starla Edwards, MAT '26, never imagined she would be going back to school in her 40s.

USC and the Leo F. Buscaglia Endowed Fellowship made it possible. For Starla, that fellowship was not just financial support. It was a belief. Someone investing in her future so she could invest in children.

Her parents were there to see it. And she carried her three sons with her every step of the way.

"I did this with you and for you."

To her classmates and to anyone who has ever doubted their own timeline:

"Never give up on your dreams, no matter your age or your circumstances." 🎓

05/29/2026

Three decades. College access. Institutional change.

William Tierney, founding director of the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education, has been named a recipient of the 2026 USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. Over more than three decades at USC, he directed the Pullias Center for 25 years and devoted his scholarship to college access for underrepresented youth.

Full story at the link below.

News & Insights All News & Insights Pullias Center Founding Director William Tierney awarded USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award Faculty News Pullias Center Founding Director William Tierney awarded USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award By Sheryl MacPhee Published on May 27, 2026 USC Pullias Cen...

05/28/2026

Melanie Lundquist, a philanthropist with a deep commitment to public education, delivered the address at USC Rossier's Master's Commencement this year.

Her charge to the Class of 2026 was direct: the best people in education are disruptors. They disrupt low expectations, indifference, and the assumption that a child's zip code determines their destiny.

05/27/2026

Jackson Drumgoole EdD '23 spent 29 years in the U.S. Army and earned his doctorate studying empathy as a catalyst for change. Now he's building something he dreamed about as a teenager: a place where young people aging out of foster care can land safely.

Bridge Builder Communities opens in Augusta, Ga., this October. Twenty-five tiny homes. Wraparound services ranging from mental health counseling to job apprenticeships. And a coalition of local grandparents who've already made 90 quilts for the first residents.

"Access to adequate housing is a part of human dignity," Drumgoole says.

Click the link below to read his full story.

Drawing on his doctoral studies at USC Rossier and nearly three decades in the U.S. Army, Jackson Drumgoole is developing Bridge Builder Communities, a housing and wraparound support initiative for Georgia youth aging out of the foster care system.

05/25/2026

Today we pause in remembrance of those who lost their lives in military service.

We honor their lives and reflect on the lasting impact of their absence across families and communities.

05/24/2026

In 1924, a plague broke out in Los Angeles. Most people left. Nora Sterry didn't.

A USC Rossier-trained educator, she walked into the quarantine zone, set up a kitchen, and spent two weeks feeding families who had nowhere else to turn.

She came to Macy Street School in Chinatown with ideas shaped by USC Professor Emory Bogardus and turned a struggling school into a community lifeline.

She wasn't alone. USC was training an entire generation of educators like her.
They called her reforms controversial. By the 1930s, they were standard in every public school in the country.

For 100 years, USC Rossier's people have been in the community. And sometimes, in the quarantine zone.

05/22/2026

Building a PhD dissertation is heavy work, but finishing it doesn't have to be a lonely milestone.

"Sure, I'll do it" or "Yeah, why not?", that’s the mindset Jimmy Aguilar used to navigate his dissertation. He came in from a 9-to-5 job thinking, "I'm just gonna go to school, finish, and then go back to my apartment," but he ended up creating strong bonds with his cohort to survive.

Now, as a scholar-practitioner, Jimmy is finishing his data collection and realizing the beauty of the flexibility he has. Whether he’s sitting on the 7th floor drinking coffee and talking about everything that’s not work, or heading to a workout class to force himself to be social, he’s learned that you need a community to actually thrive.

05/22/2026

Shorter terms, longer days, same Trojan spirit. ✌️

05/22/2026

The Class of 2026 crossed the stage at two ceremonies this month: a doctoral hooding on May 13 and a master's celebration on May 16 at the USC Galen Center.

At the doctoral hooding ceremony, 232 graduates were individually hooded by their dissertation chairs. Keynote speaker Robert Cohen, a distinguished student activist historian at NYU, made the case for protecting free speech: "Whether you agree or disagree with the speaker is not the issue. Freedom is the issue. And so is education."

369 master's graduates were honored on May 16. Melanie Lundquist, philanthropist and keynote speaker, put it plainly: "The best people in education are disruptors. Because you disrupt the assumption that a child's ZIP code will determine that child's destiny."

Student speaker Starla Edwards MAT '26 added: "Equity is not about lowering expectations. It's about removing obstacles so every child has access to opportunity."

Congratulations, Class of 2026. 🎓

Click the link below to read more.

https://bit.ly/3PEqt9h

USC Rossier celebrated the Class of 2026 at Doctoral and Master’s commencement ceremonies.

05/20/2026

To the USC Rossier Class of 2026

From doctoral candidates in cardinal robes to master's graduates crossing the stage, these ceremonies marked years of research, reflection, collaboration and care for students and communities.

Congratulations to every graduate, family member, mentor and support system who helped make this moment possible.

The work ahead matters. So does the community you built along the way.

Fight On. ❤️💛