By Mel Cowan

Director Alfred Hitchcock lecturing at SCA.

One of the greatest names in cinematic history is playing a major role in shaping the art form’s future with the Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Foundation donating $500,000 to the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) to help fund construction of the school’s massive new educational and production complex.

“We are so honored to have the Hitchcock family and foundation as such vital partners and friends,” Daley said. “Hitchcock was a true master of the medium, and it’s an inspiration to each of our students to have his family’s continuing support.”

The Hitchcock gift joins an illustrious roster of SCA supporters including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, publisher Hugh M. Hefner, the Dana and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli Foundation and Entertainment Partners, who have generously bolstered the construction and endowment campaign that the school embarked upon in 2006 after alumnus George Lucas dedicated his record-breaking $175 million challenge gift.

Currently under construction on USC’s University Park Campus in Los Angeles, the central parts of the complex are slated to be completed in December 2008. In honor of the foundation’s gift, the school has named the Alfred J. and Alma Hitchcock Lobby Court South, which is located on the ground floor of the new complex and will serve as a focal point and main entry to both the East and West buildings.

SCA has enjoyed a long relationship with the Hitchcock family that stretches back to the 1960s, when the director of classics such as North by Northwest and Psycho lectured at the school. Over the years, the foundation has generously funded a number of activities and initiatives at the school, including the 1997 inauguration of the Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Chair for the Study of American Film, held by Professor Drew Casper.