New Associate Dean will lead fundraising and alumni relations
—By Maria Iacobo
Sam Martinuzzi joined the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law on January 1 as the new Associate Dean and Chief Development Officer. The position moves Martinuzzi across campus; he previously served as the university’s associate senior vice president for advancement.
Martinuzzi brings considerable experience to his new role having served as the chief development officer at the Thornton School for Music and the director for planned giving at USC before being appointed as senior vice president for advancement in 2006.
“I am confident that Sam has the ability and the experience to lead our efforts in strengthening and deepening our connections with our friends and alumni,” said USC Law Dean Robert K. Rasmussen.
As the chief development officer, Martinuzzi will lead USC Law’s Office of Development and Graduate Relations, which is responsible for the school’s fund-raising and alumni relations activities.
“I am thrilled to be joining an outstanding team, under the leadership of a dean who has a remarkable vision for the school’s future,” Martinuzzi said.
In his role as associate senior vice president for advancement, Martinuzzi was responsible for overseeing the university’s central principal gifts, planned giving and advancement operations programs. He was also an adviser to the senior vice president for university advancement.
Martinuzzi came to USC in 2002, serving as a director of planned giving in the Office of Planned Giving from 2002 to 2004 and as executive director of development for the USC Thornton School of Music from 2004 to 2006.
Prior to joining USC, Martinuzzi was a financial adviser with Dean Witter Reynolds in New Jersey and with American Express Financial Advisors in Los Angeles, serving a large number of financial planning clients. He left the financial services business in 1998 to take a position as manager of planned giving with the Los Angeles Opera, where, as the first person to hold this position, he created an extensive marketing plan and donor consultation program. Martinuzzi earned his master’s in business administration from Missouri’s Washington University and his bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
USC Law is Southern California’s oldest and most prominent law school. It is ranked number 18 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Recognized as the most diverse top law school in the U.S., USC Law offers a rigorous and interdisciplinary learning environment that includes a wide range of public interest programs and free law clinics.
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