The Cales Help USC Village Break New Ground

As many as 2,700 students will move into the new USC Village residential-retail complex in August, marking a major milestone for USC. Support from alumni like Jessie ’74 and Charles Cale LLM ’66 makes it possible.

The couple’s $15 million gift endows the Jessie and Charles Cale Residential College. One of eight residential colleges in USC Village, Cale College will create a community for undergraduates through enriching academic, cultural and recreational activities.

Loyalty to the Trojan Family runs deep for the Cales. They’ve steadfastly supported the university, especially USC Athletics, where they endowed the Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics’ Chair in 2011.

Currently the managing member of investment firm Griffin Opportunities, USC Trustee Charles Cale was a founding board member of Women of Troy and is a longtime member of USC Associates. He is an alumnus of the USC Gould School of Law, while Jessie Cale graduated from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The Cales’ naming gift demonstrates “their heartfelt desire to build an exceptional environment for future students to live and learn,” USC President C. L. Max Nikias says. As Trojan parents, the Cales envision USC Village as a hub of intellectual and social life for students and faculty.

Cale College is part of the 1.25-million-square-foot USC Village project, the biggest mixed-use development in South Los Angeles history. Besides enriching life for students, the complex brings new retail and service options, such as Trader Joe’s and Target, to the community.