John Wells has gifted the USC School of Cinematic Arts Division of Writing for Screen & Television with an endowment, the school announced Thursday.
The division will be named the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television after the Emmy-winning producer-writer, who graduated from USC’s Peter Stark Producing Program in 1982.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my career, a career that would not have been possible without the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It’s where I learned to write, where I learned to produce, where I learned how to direct,” Wells said in a statement. “My career would not have been possible without my time at USC and without the many wonderful professors who gave unselfishly of their time and expertise.”
The endowment will provide a source of funding for “to enable the division to grow in excellence and stature, and to include meaningful support for students, faculty and staff,” according to USC. The Writing for Screen & Television division helps students produce their own scripts for feature-length films, TV episodes and web series.
“We are so grateful to our alumnus John Wells for this support of the talented storytellers who make up the John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television. John has been one of our most consistent supporters, and a great role model to our Writing students,” said SCA dean Elizabeth Daley. “We are extremely proud of his role in transforming television and film, and thrilled that his name will now be publicly associated with the School of Cinematic Arts.”
Wells has served as executive producer and writer on series such as ER, The West Wing and Shameless.
