The India Board serves many functions: to advise the dean; advocate for the school in India; strengthen ties with India alumni; and raise philanthropic support in the area of education. The board is the first ever such advisory body for U.S. engineering schools and reflects the growing ties of USC Viterbi in India. Dean Yannis C. Yortsos characterized its formation as “an important step to cementing and further building the strong relationship between the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and its Indian constituencies.”