Update: USC has appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president as C.L. Max Nikias relinquishes his duties. See KTLA’s updated story here.
USC President C.L. Max Nikias, whose tenure was marked by a significant boost in the university’s prestige and fundraising prowess but tarnished by a series of damaging scandals, is stepping down from his post, the university’s Board of Trustees announced Friday.
The move comes more than a week of uproar over the university’s handling of a longtime campus gynecologist accused of misconduct toward female students. More than 300 people, most of them former female patients of Dr. George Tyndall, have since come forward to USC, many with allegations of mistreatment and sexual abuse that date back to the early 1990s.
The revelations published by The Times heightened long-festering concerns about university leaders’ ethics and management style and sparked calls for Nikias to resign.
“President Nikias and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees have agreed to begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president,” Rick J. Caruso, a USC trustee, said in a letter to the campus Friday. “We recognize the need for change and are committed to a stable transition.”
Read the full story on LATimes.com.