Danielle Mihram
She holds a B.A. Honors from the University of Sydney (Australia), a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Library Science (MLS) from Rutgers University. She is the selector and liaison to the USC Dornsife College’s Department of French and Italian and she offers field-specific consultations on research and assessment in French and Italian. In addition, for well over a decade (1997-2013), she taught (in that department) upper division undergraduate courses, (with a strong multimedia component). From 1996 to 2007 she was Director of USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching [CET; Provost Office) and she remains a member of CET as one of its Distinguished Faculty Fellows. Under her leadership at CET, the scope and breadth of CET’s programs gained national prominence and recognition.
Danielle's research interests are multidisciplinary and have led to over a hundred publications and presentations in the fields of French literature, General Systems Theory, Information Science, and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Her current research interests include: (b) French history and culture in the 17th and 18th centuries; (b) the contributions of the digital humanities to the advancement of human knowledge; and, (c) the assessment of student learning in both curricular and extra-curricular settings.
She was awarded several grants in support of her work: the USC Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences Initiative (during its inaugural year 2007-2008); two USC Libraries’ Research Fund (2009-2010 and 2017-2018), and two Library Dean’s Challenge grants (2012-2013 and 2016-2017).
Danielle is the recipient of several awards: The Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Award (2003), and the Innovation Award on Teaching and Research (2005), both from the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research and Cybernetics; the USC Mellon Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2005); and, the USC Academic Senate’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award (2008) “for your distinguished leadership of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, and for your furtherance of mentoring at the university”.
Danielle’s enthusiasm for the Enlightenment goes back to her undergraduate years at the University of Sydney, when she learned to appreciate the richness and multiple, profound nuances of Voltaire’s writings. A keen reader, a passionate gardener, and an insatiable researcher, she has internalized Candide’s conclusion: "Il faut cultiver notre jardin."