This had to happen. The combination of this scandal, plus the USC Med school Dean drug scandal, shows that Nikias had to go. Hopefully other heads will roll as well.
USC needs to eliminate anyone who was complacent in these scandals.
"LOS ANGELES — The president of the University of Southern California, C. L. Max Nikias, agreed to step down Friday in the wake of a scandal over a gynecologist accused of abusing students at the campus health center.
Rick J. Caruso, a member of the university board of trustees, said in a statement that the board had “agreed to begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president.”
“We have heard the message that something is broken and that urgent and profound actions are needed,” the statement said. “We will rebuild our culture to reflect an environment in which safety and transparency are of paramount importance, and to institute systemic change that will prevent this from occurring in the future.”
Most I know are happy about the move. I think it was the right decision, but I also acknowledged Pres. Nikias did some great things for USC during his tenure.
It was the right move. As a new parent I was LIVID. Now they need to shrink the board (57 members!), and focus on cultural and structural changes to make sure that students are protected.
A lot of my friends and peers loved Nikias. One of them got to take his classics course and some have snapped selfies with him for their Instagram accounts. I personally wasn’t very fond of him, but he’s definitely made some meaningful contributions during his time at USC. I simply didn’t see any other way around this though. He made the right decision in resigning. USC was sending so many emails to alumni about the scandal that it almost seemed like spam. I was seeing a new email almost every day.
$6.75 billion in fundraising is no small feat but scandals like the student health center and the medical school dean make for good press, unfortunately. It’s sad all around, and I think Quick’s emails that talk about how it’s easier for an institution of USC’s size to just pay people to go away is lost on a percentage of the population. That’s just the nature of the world nowadays and avoids lawsuits, which are going to come in spades as a result of this scandal.
He raised billions of dollars, he built the Village, and elevated USC to the status of elite university. And this is now his legacy? Super sad. I don’t know the specifics (most of us don’t) but wow, I thought he would weather this with all the good things he has done for USC. The guy is certainly brilliant. Some alumni/legacy folks are probably happy to see him go since he pretty much disregarded that population in admissions and replaced it with international students. So either way, it works out for someone. Funny how USC employs thousands (5,000 full time and 15,000 at 50% or more time) and the article acts like this large population signed the letter (200-500) when in fact it was a small percentage. But nowadays, it is easy to take someone out even with a simple accusation and the media.
I don’t have enough information but I know the board was backing him till today, which said a lot, because they do know the details. The media power and pressure scares me, I don’t know what to believe with everyone being accused of something nowadays. Hard to know what is valid. It does seem pretty certain the the doctor was the sleezball.
I don’t know anyone happy about it. I just have hard time blaming a guy who did so much for the school, but either way, USC will be fine.
"Funny how USC employs thousands (5,000 full time and 15,000 at 50% or more time) and the article acts like this large population signed the letter (200-500) when in fact it was a small percentage. "
from the NY times article-
"The decision followed a call from students, faculty and alumni for his resignation, which gained momentum this week when 200 high-ranking professors signed a letter to the university’s board of trustees. The letter said Mr. Nikias no longer had the “moral authority to lead” and had failed to protect students and staff from “repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct.”
By Friday, the letter had nearly 500 signatures. The academic senate had also called on Mr. Nikias to resign, saying “new leadership is in the best interest of the university now and going forward.”
When 500 full time, tenured professors, as well as Academic Senate, sign a letter saying that they have lost confidence in the leadership of the President , then that means a lot more than if the letter came from 1000 part time assts or custodians or administrators. Sorry, but it does.
A University can’t be considered reputable place of higher education, if the people who are critically important to the University’s mission- the professors- have lost confidence in the leadership.
I liked Nikias- I met him when my DS graduated with highest honors in 2011. Ihave a picture of him and my DS taken in front of the Wall of Fame. He even mentioned my DS’s accomplishments at the main graduation ceremonies.
I do hope it will be found that Nikias was not well served by others in positions of authority at USC. And they will be summarily dismissed.
But the buck had to stop with him, especially after the USC Med school scandal last year.
I am not disagreeing with the move. Somebody had to pay - funny I don’t see the doc taking much heat, just enjoying that buyout.
But I would like to see the 200 “high ranking” signatures with their titles. Not to discredit but to validate which isn’t done anymore. I just don’t fall for the kool-aid so quickly, but I did a lot of PR and marketing, so I see the play within any news report. That still leaves four thousand that didn’t sign it - and I assume there are many high ranking in there as well. That could have been the story - 4,000+ support him, but that would be boring. I prefer balance in reporting, which doesn’t exist in today’s climate. The media can make people believe whatever they print, was the point being made. You don’t have a chance if you are accused of anything in this Salem witch hunt climate.
Ya, he had to go. I won’t miss the Christmas card.
The faculty who signed all have tenure, meaning that they can’t be fired in retaliation. Considering how much USC and other universities rely on adjuncts, this is why those tenured faculty stepped up and signed the letter. Adjuncts wouldn’t sign for fear of retaliation, nor would tenure-track faculty, nor would classified staff.
Thinking exactly like I was! And yes, I’ve been tired of being embarrassed by the school as well. No institution is perfect, but these scandals have hurt on a very deep level.