USC’s Alumni Association will relaunch regional alumni networks beginning in the spring of 2026, according to the USC Alumni website. In June 2020, the Association dissolved its 45 regional chapters and alumni clubs within the United States. 

Erika Jordan, associate senior vice president for alumni relations, wrote that seeing how significant regional clubs were to alumni led the Association to reconsider and now reinstate the regional clubs. 

“Alumni made it crystal clear that regional networks are important to them — and they’re important to the Alumni Association, too,” Jordan wrote. “We have worked for over a year with our alumni and our association team to plan the best way to relaunch regional networks so that we provide our alumni with the absolute best support and a truly unparalleled experience.”

The regional network will relaunch in eight areas, according to the  Association website: the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Colorado, Portland, New York, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Following these initial programs, the Alumni Association hopes to expand into additional cities later in 2026. 

In response to the 2020 decision, 5,000 alumni had signed a petition to reinstate the regional networks, and 70 alumni sent a letter to former President Carol Folt opposing the dismantling. 

Samuel Dorn, the former president of an alumni club in Washington, D.C., said he also felt this disappointment when the clubs were previously shut down. 

“The decision [to dissolve regional chapters] was one that was made unilaterally by the University,” Dorn said. “There was no consultation with regional leaders like myself. So, it felt very much like we had spent a lot of time volunteering for the University and were just being kicked to the curb.” 

Joel Goodman, a 2025 graduate living in New York City, said he thinks specific regional organizations are significant to help spread awareness about USC in areas outside of Los Angeles.  

“It’s important to amplify USC at a more national level,” Goodman said. “I’m from New Hampshire, and I was the first and only person from my high school to ever go to USC. So there’s that aspect where I wish people in New Hampshire knew about USC as much as they did about, say, Berkeley or UCLA.”

According to its website, the Alumni Association is holding events in the cities where the regional clubs are relaunching to announce this decision. As the program starts, the Alumni Association is also looking for co-chairs and volunteers to support their individual communities. 

Dorn said he plans to continue his involvement in the Washington, D.C., chapter and said the experience is a “phenomenally rewarding volunteer opportunity.” 

Goodman said that he hopes regional associations host industry-specific events and that he would love to see a physical meeting space for alumni. According to Goodman, these locations are not uncommon in New York City for the alumni of elite educational institutions. 

“If USC wants to leverage the amount of people they have here and really cement [itself as] an elite school [that] funnels people to really awesome jobs in New York, [then USC should] get a physical space,” Goodman said. 

Dorn said he feels confident that the leadership of the new alumni clubs will choose strong programming; however, he also hopes to see some similarities to what the clubs did prior to their dissolution in 2020. 

Dorn says he plans to continue his involvement with the reinstated regional clubs. Particularly because, according to Dorn, professional development was previously an important part of the D.C. USC alumni community. 

“Just off the bat, when I heard this, I was very excited,” Dorn said. “It’s really important to have alumni engagement and leadership … I’ve been on some of the planning halls since, and I’ve talked to some of the people, both at the Alumni Association and alumni leaders here, and I think there’s a lot of excitement for what’s to come.”