On reproductive rights: USC Trustees and their political donations
On June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to overturn the landmark court case Roe v. Wade, marking the end of nearly 50 years of reproductive freedom in the nation. The decision returned the question of how to regulate abortion to the states, which can now legislate to ban or protect abortion access as they wish. The fate of reproductive access lies upon elected officials advocating for “pro-life” or “pro-choice” agendas and the donors that fund their efforts.
The 34 members of the USC Board of Trustees are employed and retired corporate executives, as well as industry and community leaders who wield a great deal of influence, both within and outside of the University. As a self-perpetuating body, the Board of Trustees governs the University and serves as the “ultimate decision-making body,” according to University policy. A majority of the Trustees regularly make donations to political campaigns, elected officials and party committees that hold the political power to alter the course of protected rights and liberties for their constituents.
Through the use of public political donation records, the Daily Trojan has compiled a data set of the contributions Trustees made to politicians and parties since web records began in the early 2000s. This article is not meant as an attack on the Trustees’ political donations and views, but as a way to inform the University community on their political expenditure.
It is important to note that it is unclear as to whether Trustees considered a candidate’s or elected official’s stance on reproductive rights when making their donation, so information presented here should not be taken as each Trustee’s definitive view on the issue. Trustees’ independent, personal political donations are not affiliated to their role as Board members; thus, the Daily Trojan was unable to obtain comment from the Board about this article.
Methodology
To conduct this investigation, donations were verified with the National Institute on Money in Politics and Open Secrets. Both are nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations promoting transparency for donations made regarding U.S. politics, including campaign donors and lobbyists. We surveyed donations from Board of Trustees members, as well as the companies and organizations they are associated with if the Trustee currently holds an executive position within the organization.
The compiled list is not exhaustive — it includes the largest donations for each Trustee, and only those donations greater than $999 were included. Furthermore, only donations made to winning campaigns were included — exceptions were made in cases where donations to losing campaigns were among the largest for the donor.
Donations were verified on both organizations used during the research process, but donations only listed on one of them are marked with an asterisk. A full raw set of the data can be found here.
Analysis
Alumna and real estate professional Stephanie A. Argyros has been a member of the Board since 2018. Argyros is a principal at Arnel, a real estate firm, and serves as director of the Argyros Family Foundation. Argyros has donated $7,400 to elected officials working to restrict access to abortion services — including a $10,000* donation made to Butch Otter by Arnel Development.
Marc R. Benioff is chair, co-CEO and co-founder of Salesforce. A member of the Board since 2011 and a member of the USC Marshall School of Business Board of Councilors, Benioff has contributed $164,400 to campaigns for candidates who support reproductive rights and $57,300 to ones who work to restrict them. The day Roe v. Wade was overturned, Benioff Tweeted that he “believes CEOs have a responsibility to take care of their employees — no matter what. Salesforce moves employees when they feel threatened or experience discrimination.”
A member of the Board since 2020, Corii D. Berg serves as the executive vice president and general counsel of Lionsgate Entertainment. He also served as president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors. Berg does not have any publicly listed donations to political campaigns.
Chairman of Chaparal Investments and member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Robert D. Beyer joined the Board in 2021. Beyer has contributed $114,000 to politicians working to preserve reproductive rights and $135,507 to politicians working to restrict them.
David C. Bohnett has been a member of the Board since 2015. Bohnett also serves as chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, which is “committed to improving society through social activism.” Bohnett has donated $221,500 to politicians who work to protect reproductive freedoms.
Amgen CEO Robert A. Bradway has been a member of the Board since 2014. Bradway has donated $317,123 to campaigns supporting elected officials in favor of protecting reproductive rights — including a $152,923* donation to Gray Davis (D) made by Amgen — and $175,400 to officials against it.
Former Chair of the Board and current L.A. mayoral candidate Rick J. Caruso Tweeted that he is “heartbroken and outraged by the decision of the Supreme Court,” referring to the repeal of Roe. He has contributed $185,300 to officials working to protect reproductive rights and $53,100 to officials working to bar them.
Chairman of the board of the Herrick Corporation David H. Dornsife has been a member of the Board since 2002. Dornsife has donated $14,500 to campaigns supporting officials in favor of reproductive rights and $83,200 to officials against them.
A member of the Board since 2012, Michele Dedeaux Engemann is a philanthropist and actor. She has previously served as president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and is a Founding Chair of the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Engemann does not have any public donations to political campaigns.
Michael A. Felix is a retired financial services professional. He served as the 95th president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and has been a Board member since 2019. Felix has no listed political donations.
In a statement published on social media, University President and member of the Board Carol L. Folt wrote “as a leading educational institution with a major healthcare system, [the University] must continue to champion safe access to women’s reproductive healthcare through our advocacy, research and medical enterprise.” There are no listed donations for Folt.
Co-president of the W.M. Keck Foundation Steve Keck has been a member of the Board since 2021. The W.M. Keck Foundation supports “pioneering discoveries in science, engineering and medical research”. The foundation donated $250,000 to Planned Parenthood in 2019.
Kenneth R. Klein has been a Board member since 2009. He has held various leadership positions at Wind River Systems Inc., a device software optimization company. Klein has no listed public donations to elected officials.
Jaime L. Lee serves as the CEO of Jamison Realty, a real estate firm. She previously served as the president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and has been a member of the Board since 2018. Lee has contributed $18,250 to elected officials who support access to reproductive healthcare.
Founding publisher of Allure magazine Kathy Leventhal joined the Board in 2016. She does not have listed donations to campaigns supporting elected officials.
John M. Lino serves as the Global Chief Diversity Officer for Reed Smith, LLP. He was named chair of the USC Gould School of Law’s Board of Councilors in 2018. He does not have any public donations to political campaigns.
CEO of Kennedy Wilson Holdings William J. McMorrow has been a member of the Board since 2015. McMorrow has donated $29,200 to campaigns supporting officials who believe in protecting reproductive rights.
John Mork has been a member of the Board since 2006, previously serving as Chairman, and is the chief executive director of EnerG-ID Solutions Corporation. Mork has donated $244,600* to politicians who work to restrict reproductive rights and $14,200 to ones who work to protect reproductive freedoms.
A Board member since 2018, Oscar Munoz currently serves as executive chairman for United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Munoz has contributed 17,800 to campaigns and elected officials against protecting reproductive rights and $10,550* to politicians working to bolster them.
Rod Y. Nakamoto has been a member of the Board since 2017 and is a senior vice president at Merril Lynch. Nakamoto has donated $2,800* to Joe Biden, who is working to protect abortion rights under federal law.
A retired senior vice president of premium care and customer loyalty at AT&T’s Entertainment Group, Carmen Nava has been a member of the Board since 2017. Nava has contributed $4,500 to politicians in favor of protecting reproductive rights and $2,000 to politicians against doing so.
Shelley L. Nemirovsky is a community leader and has been on the Board since 2016. Nemirovsky has contributed $6,300 to pro-choice politicians and $5,000 to pro-life politician Mitt Romney.
Dominic Ng is the chairman and CEO at East West Bank and has served on the Board since 2014. Ng has donated $36,500 to politicians who support reproductive freedoms, including Lanhee Chen (R), who is running for California Controller this year.
Suzanne Nora Johnson has served on the Board as chair since June 2022 and as a member since 1998, previously serving as vice chairman for the Goldman Sachs Group. Johnson has contributed $60,300 to politicians — including Xavier Becerra — who support protecting reproductive rights and have spoken out against SCOTUS’ repeal of Roe v. Wade.
A board member since 2015, Amy A. Ross previously served as a biotechnology executive. Ross has some listed political donations, all of which are small compared to that of other Trustees, so the Daily Trojan has chosen not to report them.
Frederick J. Ryan has served on the Board since 2017, is the publisher and CEO of the Washington Post and served as chief of staff to former President Ronald Reagan between 1989 and 1995. Ryan also has some listed political donations, all of which are small compared to that of other Trustees, so the Daily Trojan has chosen not to report them.
Founding Chairman and CEO at Wellpoint (now Anthem) Leonard D. Schaeffer has served as a board member since 2013. Schaeffer has donated $73,600 to politicians who have expressed support for reproductive rights and $4,800 to politicians who have expressed anti-abortion and pro-life views.
William E. B. Siart has served on the Board since 1995 and is the chairman at Excellent Education Development. Siart has contributed $40,000 to politicians against protecting reproductive rights — including Daniel Lungren (R), who opposes abortion — and $7,000 to politicians in support of protecting these rights.
A Board member since 2002, Jeffrey H. Smulyan currently serves as chairman of the board at Emmis Communications. Smulyan has donated $48,100 to politicians who disagree with the repeal of Roe v. Wade — including Andre Carson (D), who believes Roe should be preserved — and $9,937 to politicians who do not support reproductive rights.
Former managing director at Merril Lynch Heliane M. Steden has served on the Board since 2015. Steden has donated $21,400 to politicians who oppose reproductive freedoms, including Shane Osborne (R), who has pro-life views.
Ronald D. Sugar, a board member since 2003, serves as chairman emeritus at the Northrop Grumman Corporation, as the director of Chevron Corp and Apple Inc. and as the independent chairman of Uber. Sugar’s personal donations were too small to include, but the Brennan Center for Justice reported that Chevron contributed to anti-abortion candidates in Louisiana in 2019.
A Board member since 2015 and a community leader, Tracy M. Sykes has donated $51,800 to politicians who support protecting reproductive rights and $12,300 to politicians who oppose doing so.
Daniel M. Tsai joined the Board as a member in 2012 and serves as chairman of the Fubon Group. The sites used for the data collection listed few donations for Tsai, all of which were small in amount.
Wenxue Wang is the founder and chairman of China Future Land Development and has served as Board member since 2016. There were no listed donations for Wang.
Concluding thoughts
While the state of California has upheld that it will protect access to reproductive healthcare, students hailing from every state come to the University. Thus, policy-making in every state concerns the student population, especially during academic recess, when students often return home.
The University’s leaders and their contributions to politicians and campaigns working to protect reproductive rights or restrict abortion access should be kept in plain sight for the University community.