Public Figure

By USC Athletics Black History Month

February 14^th, 2017

By Jordan Moore

Lynn Swann has a movie recommendation.

"Have you seen Hidden Figures?" the USC athletic director asks. "You've got to see it."

Maybe you have seen it. The movie has grossed more than $100M domestically, captivating America by telling the previously untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three brilliant African-American women who contributed to some of NASA's most important missions.

"All three wanted something that had been denied to them all their lives, simple things and big things," Swann relays the most meaningful message from the film. "Each one of them found a way to get what they wanted with a different method."

Whatever the challenge, Swann's preferred method is consistent. While he has tried his hand at a variety of different careers, the one through line in his resume is the desire to lead from the front. The characteristic revealed itself long before he turned pro.

In junior high school, Swann was the first trombone player, waiting for band practice to begin. The conductor was late. While most teenagers welcome any respite from structure, Swann saw a gap to be filled, so he commanded the rostrum and in turn the orchestra.

When the teacher arrived, he barked, "What's going on here?" Swann stuttered out an explanation, "I thought we might as well get started."

"Great," the teacher said after a moment's pause. "Keep going."

Swann was ultimately tasked with conducting that song at the parents' concert.

Swann's musical career, outside of lip-syncing Motown tunes at USC basketball games, is over, but the kid with the baton in his hands never went away. He became the president of his eighth grade class, a USC football captain, a four-time Super Bowl champion, the chairman of the United States President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania, and the USC athletic director with many other stops along the way, all of which rang true to the first piece of leadership advice that he ever received.

"My parents always believed that if you have a desire to do something, step up and do it. Don't stand in the background."

Swann went down a different career path from his father, a custodian and manager at an apartment complex, but the hard work that he witnessed firsthand showed him what it would take to succeed in any walk of life. Now, tasked with raising his own children - two college-aged sons - and working daily with Millennials at USC, he has had to adapt to leading a generation that spends much more time holding an iPhone than a hammer.

"It's different, but if you take the time to listen and see where they are coming from, it's not that difficult," he says, adding that the worst idea is believing that every student has to believe what you believe.

To that end, as athletic director, Swann has taken a patient approach. He did not storm into Heritage Hall with designs on shaking its foundation. Instead, he looked closer for the cracks in the brick, ready to repair, reface and resurface wherever possible.

"You come in as a leader. You shouldn't just come in and say, 'I am going to change this.' That sudden change could be more destructive than anything else. You have to be a caretaker of what's good and make necessary change."

As Swann grows into his role as the caretaker of USC athletics, he knows that the mere presence of an African American leading one of the most prestigious athletic departments in the country is change itself. While Swann is not USC's first black AD, following in the footprints left by Mike Garrett, he is one of only nine African-American athletic directors among Power 5 programs, comprising 14 percent of the possible spots.

Like the heroines of Hidden Figures, Swann is not motivated by the act of trail blazing but rather the action of contributing to society to the best of his ability.

"You continue to press forward," he says determinedly. "The fact that no one else has done something is not a deterrent for me."

From that forward position, he can serve as a pioneer or role model, but social change is not an individual sport. The watershed moments of history are often only realized in retrospect.

Swann experienced one himself. He was a freshman in 1970 when Sam Cunningham tore through the Alabama defense and segregation in Southern football.

But like his teammates, Swann had no idea that he was witnessing history. It was only time and perspective that built the legend of Cunningham and the understanding of the greater good that was accomplished that night in Birmingham. Decades later, he readily passes on that story to USC's student-athletes, so they understand whose shoulders on which they truly stand.

And he adds the message, "Regardless of whether or not you get praise or glory for what you do, if it is the right thing, it will have a positive impact on all the people that follow."