[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING USC PRESIDENT STEVEN SAMPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DIANE E. WATSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 9, 2010

  Ms. WATSON. Madam Speaker, I, Diane Watson, along with Mr. Becerra, 
Ms. Bono Mack, Mr. Campbell, Ms. Chu, Mr. Dreier, Mr. Filner, Mr. 
Garamendi, Ms. Napolitano, Ms. Richardson, Mr. Royce, Ms. Roybal-
Allard, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. Visclosky, rise today to honor University 
of Southern California's 10th President, Steven B. Sample. After 15 
years of dedicated leadership, President Sample will be retiring this 
August.
  Steven Sample led an institutional rise at USC that is unparalleled 
in American higher education, helping the university become a highly 
selective undergraduate institution. He drove faculty excellence to new 
levels. Not only did he create a network of global scholars and 
programs, but he also focused on building successful partnerships in 
local neighborhoods to spur economic and educational development. 
During his tenure, USC earned 20 national championships in men's and 
women's intercollegiate sports. In addition, he completed the largest 
fund-raising campaign in the history of higher education.
  Under Sample's leadership, the University of Southern California 
attracted increasingly accomplished students, with SAT scores rising 
300 points. Applications have nearly tripled since 1991. USC is now 
among the top five universities in the number of National Merit 
Scholars and first in the country in the number of international 
students.
  By training, Steven B. Sample is an electrical engineer and a member 
of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts 
and Sciences. His patents in the field of digital appliance controls 
have been licensed to practically every major manufacturer of appliance 
controls and microwave ovens in the world. More than 300 million home 
appliances have been built using his inventions.
  President Sample's The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, a Los 
Angeles Times best seller, was named one of six ``must-reads'' for 
leaders by Harvard Management Update of the Harvard Business School.
  Sample donates all royalties to a scholarship fund for USC 
undergraduates. This book is translated into a leadership course that 
Sample teaches to Trojans every year.
  His outreach has created numerous jobs locally. The University of 
Southern California became the largest private employer in the City of 
Los Angeles. It was ranked in the top five of a survey titled ``Great 
Colleges to Work For'' by the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2006, 
under Sample's leadership.
  As a past chairman of the Association of American Universities, 
Sample understands the importance of intellectual collaboration. That 
is why he founded the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Sample 
has also dedicated himself to promoting Los Angeles as the de facto 
capital of the Pacific Rim with its strong entrepreneurial-based 
businesses and commerce, the busiest seaports in the United States, 
creativity and intellectual capital, and unparalleled diversity.
  Steven Sample's presidency of the University of Southern California 
has significantly benefitted the City of Los Angeles, the State of 
California, and, most important, thousands of Trojan students.
  Kathryn Sample is her husband's most trusted ally and advisor and has 
dedicated herself unreservedly to helping strengthen USC's position as 
a world-class research university. They have two daughters, Michelle 
Sample Smith and Elizabeth Sample, and two grandchildren, Kathryn and 
Andrew Smith.

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