“What Matters to Me and Why” is a monthly talk and discussion series featuring USC faculty and administrators. The series encourages reflection about values, beliefs, and motivation in the lives of those who help shape our university. Presenters are encouraged to talk about choices made, difficulties encountered, and commitments solidified.
Dr. Julie Rousseau (aka Dr. J) is the Associate Athletic Director and an Adjunct Professor, teaching identity development, in the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at the University of Southern California (USC).
She has always had an insatiable love for sport, which has been prominent in her life and nurtured since childhood by her family. Over 20 years as a head basketball coach of both female and male athletes, and head coaching experiences at every level of play (WNBA, College Division I, and High School), she continues to pursue her love of sport by working to create an environment within Trojan Athletics where all members (i.e., student athletes, coaches, and staff) thrive while at USC and beyond.
As a lifelong learner, she returned to school to pursue her PhD in Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University, which she earned in May 2019, focused on The Influence of Gender, Race, and Intersectionality of Stress in Division Head Basketball Coaches.
Dr. J acknowledges that none of her success and accomplishments, both past or present, would have been realized without her Christian faith.