$15 million donated toward cancer clinic


USC plans to build a new outpatient clinic on the Health Sciences Campus after a $15-million donation from the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, the university announced Tuesday.

Donation · Former and current leaders of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation and USC Norris Cancer Hospital pose for a photo after the donation was made. - Photo courtesy of the Keck School of Medicine of USC

The Norris Healthcare Consultation Center will house a variety of clinics focusing on cancer care, including those for radiation therapy, imaging and infusion therapy.

The proposed site of the building is a parking lot next to USC’s Healthcare Consultation Center I and Healthcare Consultation Center II.

The Health Sciences Campus’ space for patient care is slated to increase from more than 1 million square feet to more than 2 million square feet by 2035, according to a master plan approved in January 2011.

The Norris Foundation has donated to support USC cancer care before, naming the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The Norris Foundation’s donation is the primary gift to the center, according to a press release, but funds to build it will also come from money raised by the Campaign for the University of Southern California, a $6billion fundraising initiative launched by President C. L. Max Nikias last year.

Harlyne Norris, trustee and past chairwoman of the foundation, said the gift was intended to augment current cancer care at Keck.

“Having had a long and successful relationship with both USC and the Keck School of Medicine, we’ve seen how cancer patients are treated much more on an outpatient basis than they used to be,” Norris said in a press release. “This new facility will transform the way people with cancer are treated today and in the future. We’re very privileged to be able to help keep USC on the cutting edge of cancer treatment.”