Awarded very selectively by the President to those whose accomplishments have brought special renown to USC.
Current Distinguished Professors
Leonard M. Adleman
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and holder of the Henry Salvatori Chair in Computer Science
Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati
Distinguished Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences
Aimee Bender
Distinguished Professor of English
Distinguished Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, and Associate Dean for Social Justice
Paula Cannon
Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Pinchas Cohen
Distinguished Professor of Gerontology, Medicine, and Biological Sciences
Percival Everett
Distinguished Professor of English
Susan Forsburg
Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences
Inderbir Gill
Distinguished Professor of Urology, and holder of the Hanson-White Chair in Medical Research
Genevieve Giuliano
Distinguished Professor of Public Policy
Distinguished Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and Law
Velina Hasu Houston
Distinguished Professor of Theatre in Dramatic Writing
Sherman Jackson
Distinguished Professor of Religion and holder of the King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture
Behrokh Khoshnevis
Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Astronautics, and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and holder of the Louise L. Dunn Endowed Professorship in Engineering
C.-C. Jay Kuo
Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and holder of the William M. Hogue Professorship in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Edward E. Lawler, III
Distinguished Research Professor of Business
Caryn Lerman
Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Psychology and holder of the H. Leslie Hoffman and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research
Peter C. Mancall
Distinguished Professor of History, Anthropology, and Economics
Maja J. Matarić
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Pediatrics, and holder of the Chan Soon-Shiong Chair in Computer Science
Mahta Moghaddam
Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and holder of the Ming Hsieh Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering
Natalia Molina
Distinguished Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity
Pedro Noguera
Distinguished Professor of Education and holder of the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean’s Chair in Education
Jong-Shi Pang
Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Manuel Pastor
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity, and holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change
M. Hashem Pesaran
Distinguished Professor of Economics, and holder of the John E. Elliott Chair in Economics
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Steven Ross
Distinguished Professor of History and holder of the Dean’s Professorship of History
Elyn Saks
Distinguished Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences and holder of the Orrin B. Evans Professorship of Law
Distinguished Professor of Education and Psychology
Scott Soames
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
Vaughn A. Starnes
Distinguished Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and holder of the H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair for Stem Cell and Cardiovascular Thoracic Research
Arieh Warshel
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and holder of the Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Chemistry
Alan E. Willner
Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and holder of the Steven and Kathryn Sample Chair in Engineering
Emeritus Distinguished Professors
Norman Arnheim
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences
T. Coraghessan Boyle
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and Writer in Residence
P. Daniel Dapkus
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and Physics and Astronomy
Kelvin J. A. Davies
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Gerontology and Biological Sciences
Mark Jonathan Harris
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Cinematic Arts
Stephen Hartke
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Composition
Francine Ratner Kaufman
Distinguished Professor Emerita of Pediatrics
Michael M. C. Lai
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Neurology
Morten J. Lauridsen
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Composition
Alexandra M. Levine
Distinguished Professor Emerita of Medicine
Former Distinguished Professors
Warren Bennis
University Professor, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration, and Professor of Management and Organization and Finance and Business Economics
Barry Boehm
Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Industrial and Systems Engineering, and holder of the TRW Professorship in Software Engineering
Kingsley Davis
Distinguished Professor of Sociology
Solomon Golomb
University Professor, Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics, and holder of the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Chair in Communications
Jane Goodall
Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Anthropology and Occupational Therapy
Midori Goto
Distinguished Professor of Strings and holder of the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin
Brian Henderson
Distinguished Professor of Preventive Medicine and Neurology, and holder of the Kenneth T. Norris Chair in Cancer Prevention
James Higginbotham
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Linguistics and holder of the Linda Hilf Chair in Philosophy
Paul Hochstein
Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy
Rex Ingraham
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Restorative Dentistry
Peter Jones
Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and holder of the Mark A., J. Ruth and Stillman F. Sawyer Chair in Cancer Research
Jae Jung
Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and holder of the Fletcher Jones Foundation Chair in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Pierre Koenig
Distinguished Professor of Architecture
Jean-Jacques Laffont
John Elliott Distinguished Chair in Economics
Tony Maxworthy
Distinguished Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and holder of the Smith International Professorship in Mechanical Engineering
Ian Mitroff
Harold Quinton Distinguished Chair in Business Policy and Professor of Management and Organization
George Olah
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, and holder of the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Chair in Organic Chemistry
Shahbudin H. Rahimtoola
Distinguished Professor of Medicine and holder of the George C. Griffith Chair in Cardiolo
Stephen Ryan
Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and holder of the Grace and Emery Beardsley Chair in Ophthalmology
Jonathan Samet
Distinguished Professor of Preventive Medicine, and holder of the Flora L. Thornton Chair in Preventive Medicine
Peter Vogt
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology
John Weaver
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography
Walter Wolf
Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences