THE LATEST: In November, a $25 million gift from the widow of former Columbia Pictures Television studio head John H. Mitchell was used to establish an endowment at the school supporting classes in entertainment business and providing financial support to students training for jobs in the industry's executive suites.



BACKGROUND: The longest-serving dean at USC, Daley has guided the School of Cinematic Arts for 29 years. Previously, she served as chair of the Film & Television Production program. She was founding executive director of the university's Annenberg Center for Communication and serves as executive director of the USC Institute for Multimedia Literacy. Daley oversaw creation of the Entertainment Technology Center, a think tank that studies the impact of new technologies, and construction of the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. Prior to joining USC, Daley worked for the film and TV division of the Mark Taper Forum and was a producer for MGM/Television before joining academia.



YEARS ON THE LA500: 5