USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism collaborates with Adobe to offer free software to students in 2013-14

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Through a new collaboration with Adobe, a global leader in digital media tools, USC Annenberg will provide its students, faculty and staff with Adobe Creative Cloud at no cost during the 2013-14 academic year.

The popular software products will be available to all students pursuing a major or minor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The suite, which includes Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat, is an industry standard for print, web, video, photography and design professionals.

Offering students unlimited access to these tools, invaluable for developing skills for digital communication and collaboration, will give students a competitive edge in the classroom – and after they graduate, said USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III.

The collaboration is a first for Adobe and the University of Southern California and will become a cornerstone of a core mission at USC Annenberg – to encourage and establish digital literacy as an integral part of a student's education here. Pursuing digital literacy includes teaching students how to think critically about the digital world of communication and also how to participate and flourish in that world.

The culture of communication is increasingly participatory and collaborative, and that's where the benefits of Adobe's offerings come in, said Dean Wilson.

"Digital literacy requires students to be adept at using digital tools to evolve from consuming information to producing it," he said. "Our students at USC Annenberg already are producers and networkers across multiple platforms of communication and journalism, and now they will have free access to these tools, which will help them further hone these skills."

Adobe officials said they look forward to contributing to the digital education of future communicators.

"Adobe is excited to work with USC Annenberg to provide the newest tools for creation of content for print, web, video and mobile to the next generation of digital storytellers," said Jim Guerard, VP of enterprise solutions at Adobe. "With the capabilities of Creative Cloud, students will have the opportunity to express their creativity while mastering their ability to work collaboratively on projects. We look forward to seeing the great content they will create and to their new facility when it opens next fall."

USC Annenberg will continue to work with Adobe through the Fall 2014 opening of the technologically-transformative Wallis Annenberg Hall. Access to Adobe Creative Cloud will be instrumental to the building's state-of-the-art content management system, which allows students to share and publish from multiple sources to any medium.

One example is the work of ATVN, USC Annenberg's award-winning television and online news station.

"We're excited that the Creative Cloud will make all Adobe products readily available to all students interested in multimedia production," said USC Annenberg Professor Serena Cha, director of ATVN.

In Wallis Annenberg Hall, the tools will work seamlessly with the new content management system, as students tie video editing software Adobe Premiere with their video production. "Students will be able to quickly retrieve and deliver shared material," Cha said.

To help students, faculty and staff make the most of their access to the Creative Cloud, USC Annenberg plans the following events to roll out the partnership:

• Workshops, developed by USC Annenberg and Adobe, that will be held through November 2013
• Information on CCS and Adobe swag, available at a booth in the East Lobby on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 24-25, to coincide with USC Trojan Family Weekend
• "Adobe Days," held Nov. 11-13, which will include video exhibits, workshops and a performance by "Soul Pancake" on Nov. 11.

For more information on Adobe's Creative Cloud, visit: www.adobe.com

About the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is a national leader in education and scholarship in the fields of communication, journalism, public diplomacy and public relations. With an enrollment of more than 2,200 students, USC Annenberg offers doctoral, master's and bachelor's degree programs, as well as continuing development programs for working professionals across a broad scope of academic inquiry. The school's comprehensive curriculum emphasizes the core skills of leadership, innovation, service and entrepreneurship and draws upon the resources of a networked university located in the media capital of the world.

Contact: Gretchen Parker, [email protected] or 213-740-6302

SOURCE USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism