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USC names interim president and outlines search process for next leader
The scene of a protest at USC in spring 2024, following the administration's decision to cancel the valedictory speech at commencement.
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USC Muslim Student Union
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USC announced Wednesday that Beong-Soo Kim will serve as the university’s interim president. Kim has served as a senior vice president and general counsel at USC since 2020.
Kim begins his new role in July.
He succeeds Carol Folt, who announced in November that she'd step down. Folt will remain on the university faculty.
A change in leadership
Folt’s two non-interim predecessors, C. L. Max Nikias and Steven Sample, were prodigious fundraisers. But Nikias' time was also marked by a series of scandals, including a sexual abuse scandal that resulted in a $1 billion payout in 2021.
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Folt was hired to carry out reforms. But her past year was consumed by campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and backlash after she cancelled a valedictorian speech.
And her fundraising has lagged her predecessors: A federal tax filing from last year shows USC revenues down $447 million from the previous year, to its lowest point in years.
What's the search process?
In its announcement, the university said it plans to create a search committee to find its new permanent president. It promised faculty, staff, students and alumni will be involved.
The chairs of the presidential search committee will be USC trustees Carmen Nava (an AT&T executive and member of the trustees’ finance committee) and Mark Stevens, a longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist who rejoined the USC board last year.
“They do have a great opportunity to set the tone. They work hard to make sure every voice is heard,” said Jon McNaughtan, an associate professor at Texas Tech University, who researches leadership and governance in higher education.
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