USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Board of Councilors member Mary Lou Dauray and emeritus board member Alan Davis have provided a generous gift of $2.5 million from the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund to support the school’s new Arts and Healthy Aging (AHA) Center.

The gift creates an endowment fund supporting the AHA Center’s study of the connections between the arts and aging. In addition, the Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund also offers a $1 million matching challenge for any subsequent gifts made to the Arts and Healthy Aging Center during the next six months.

“We are very grateful to Mary Lou and Alan for their visionary gift and generous support of our Arts and Healthy Aging Center,” said Pinchas Cohen, Dean of the USC Leonard Davis School and Distinguished Professor of Gerontology, Medicine and Biological Sciences. “I look forward to seeing the center generate new knowledge in this exciting emerging area of study.”

The Arts and Healthy Aging Center supports research and further insight into the interplay between artistic engagement and the aging process. The new center’s research efforts focus on assessing the advantages associated with active participation in the creation of art by older individuals; evaluating the benefits derived from engaging with the arts, such as listening to music and attending theater or art exhibitions; and examining the representation of older individuals within artistic and media portrayals.

AHA Center programs also include competitive research grants focused on studying the connection of art and healthy aging, Arts and Healthy Aging symposia, support for Arts and Healthy Aging Visiting Scholars, and other potential public programming about the arts and healthy aging that engages students, the public, and faculty from other universities.

“Alan and I are thrilled with the AHA Center’s exploration into the area of NeuroArt, and we can’t wait to see future developments in this area,” Dauray said.

Source: https://gero.usc.edu/2025/05/14/usc-art-healthy-aging/