A multi-million legacy gift will support USC Rossier School of Education, Keck School of Medicine and Caruso Catholic Center

Reflecting on the academic year, we celebrate graduating students and a recent multi-million gift to USC Rossier, Keck School of Medicine and USC Caruso Catholic Center

By Katrina Nash Published on May 22, 2023

Amy and Jim at the 2017 Leaders in Giving event

Amy King Dundon-Berchtold and James “Jim” Joseph Berchtold have been longtime USC supporters. With deep family connections to the university, Amy graduated from the USC Rossier School of Education in 1972. Amy’s mother, Joyce King Stoops, and her stepfather, Emery Stoops, were both USC Rossier professors. Upon Amy’s passing a few years ago, Jim and Amy made a momentous multi-million dollar legacy gift to support the USC Rossier School of Education, Keck School of Medicine and Caruso Catholic Center.

USC Rossier will receive 40% of the gift to prepare leaders to advance educational equity through practice, research and policy. The Amy K. Dundon-Berchtold Education Leadership Chair and the Amy K. Dundon-Berchtold Early Education Chair will be established to make it possible for USC Rossier to recruit and promote distinguished faculty to lead in these areas. The remaining funds will be used to create a new Amy K. Dundon-Berchold and Jim Berchtold Endowed Scholarship Fund and to further invest in existing scholarship funds previously set up by Amy and her family. “Amy and Jim’s generous gift will support USC Rossier’s efforts to continue to develop leaders who are capable of creating schools that are innovative and responsive to the unique needs of every child and their learning needs,” said Pedro Noguera, the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean of the Rossier School of Education. “The generosity of Amy and her family will produce a lasting impact on the field of education through the work that will be done by the students at USC Rossier. These funds will also go a long way toward ensuring that our students receive a world-class education that will prepare them to solve some of the most intractable educational problems facing our nation and the world today.”

Keck School of Medicine will receive 30% of the gift to continue improving the quality of life for individuals and society. The Amy K. Dundon-Berchtold and Jim Berchtold Orthopaedic Surgery Endowed Chair will be established in honor of Dr. R. Kiran Alluri, an Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery and a part of the USC Spine Center. The gift will also establish the Dr. Howard A. Liebman Autoimmune Blood Disease Research Fund. This new fund will provide support as Dr. Liebman and his colleagues continue their collaboration with the Platelet Disorder Support Association to build a registry of detailed clinical data and blood samples of patients with Evans Syndrome to study patients’ immune regulatory genes, better understand the condition, and develop more effective treatments. The Dr. Mark F. Lew Parkinson’s Endowed Research Fund will be established to provide support as Dr. Lew and his colleagues continue to improve the ability to detect an early marker for Parkinson’s disease. Lastly, the Amy K. Dundon-Berchtold and Jim Berchtold Endowed Medical Scholarship Fund will be created to ensure excellence in educating the next generation of academic clinicians and basic scientists.

USC Caruso Catholic Center will receive 30% of the gift to continue its legacy of inviting the USC community into a transforming relationship with Christ and one another, empowering Trojans to make a lasting impact on the world. The Jim Berchtold and Amy Dundon-Berchtold Endowment for Faith & Ethics will be established to annually support the Ministry Fund and the Scholarship Fund. The Ministry Fund will focus on three areas of the Center’s mission: Worship (Priests, Religious, and Music); Evangelization (Community Building, Retreats, and Small Groups); and Formation (Intellectual life, Justice work, and Ethical Leadership).

Amy and Jim will leave a lasting legacy on the Trojan community along with her family. Amy’s parents established the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Education Library, the Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean’s Chair in Education, and 25 scholarships for USC Rossier students. While continuously supporting USC Athletics and medical research, Amy and Jim endowed the USC Amy King Dundon-Berchtold University Club at King Stoops Hall in 2016.

We are thankful for Amy’s and Jim’s generosity and commitment to the Trojan Family!