Norman Topping (1908 – 18 November 1997) was the President of the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

between 1958 and 1970. He succeeded Fred D. Fagg, Jr., and was succeeded by John R. Hubbard. He was chancellor between 1971 and 1980. He became emeritus chancellor in 1980. While President of USC, Topping announced an ambitious "Master Plan for Enterprise and Excellence in Education." As part of the execution of the plan, USC's University Park Campus grew from 95 to 150 acres. Several dozen temporary buildings were replaced with permanent structures. In sum, it was the largest expansion of USC's physical campus, and helped pave the way for future expansion of USC's research mission. Also during Topping's presidency, USC joined the

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

an important symbolic step toward USC's increasing recognition as a top tier research university. Dr. Topping was an BA and MD alumnus of USC and worked at the U.S. Public Health Service on the

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by more than fifteen million

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soldiers, a treatment still in use today. He served in the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

. Later he helped develop the first effective treatment against

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

. He was an associate director of the

NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

and Assistant Surgeon General from 1948 to 1952. Topping was vice president for medical affairs at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

from 1952 to 1958. USC's Norman Topping Student Center was named in his honor.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050722024243/http://www.usc.edu/about/factbook/history/ USC History * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow890Y9gl9I/ Norman Topping Interview on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Topping, Norman University of Pennsylvania Presidents of the University of Southern California United States Coast Guard officers American public health doctors 1908 births 1997 deaths University of Southern California alumni Keck School of Medicine of USC alumni 20th-century American academics