Zynga make ‘substantial’ gift to USC to support Diversity

Social game developer Zynga has announced the donation of a substantial gift to the University of Southern California.

The gift, which has not been detailed monetiarily, has been given to USC’s school of cinematic arts with the aim of creating bespoke courses for the studio of social mobile game production and to increase industry diversity. These will run for the next three years.

One class will be on on creating social mobile games using ‘Zynga’s design methodology’ and students across USC who are interested in game design, inclusivity and diversity in the development of social mobile games, will be able to partake in the course. Zynga will also sponsor an event series at the campus.

"We’re continually impressed with the USC faculty and inspired by our interactions with students across the campus," said Zynga CEO, Frank Gibeau. "USC has always taken a cutting-edge approach to advancing the intersection of entertainment and business innovation, and we’re thrilled to share our unique view on how to blend art and science disciplines in social mobile gaming."

"This gift shows a great commitment on the part of Zynga to some of our shared core values: innovation in games coupled with best practices for inclusive production teams," said director of USC Games, Tracy Fullerton. "So many of our alumni are working at Zynga that it’s a natural fit for us to work with them to help more young designers and developers learn these core skills."