James H. Zumberge was inaugurated as the ninth president of USC on May 10, 1981, during a ceremony that was the capstone of a year of celebrations marking the university’s centennial. Building on an academic planning process that began early in his tenure, Zumberge was instrumental in defining the goals that became the basis for “The Campaign for USC,” the most ambitious fundraising program in the university’s history to date. When the campaign concluded in June 1990, it had raised $641.6 million, supporting a wide variety of capital projects, contributing more than $188 million to USC’s endowment, and boosting annual support of university programs to unprecedented levels.

Among the more than a dozen major new buildings completed during Zumberge’s tenure were the Hedco Neurosciences Building, the General William Lyon University Center, the Cinema-Television Complex, Pertusati University Bookstore, and Zohrab A. Kaprielian Hall, as well as major additions to the Architecture and Fine Arts Library and Law School. The Health Sciences campus nearly doubled in size. A new teaching library (today’s Leavey Library) also was in the advanced planning stages.

USC also made major strides in research during the Zumberge years. Sponsored research funding grew from $71.5 million in 1981 to $174.5 million in 1990 — a 144 percent increase. Major research initiatives, such as the USC-based National Center for Integrated Photonic Technology and the Southern California Earthquake Center, contributed significantly to USC’s emergence as one of the country’s premier research universities.