USC President Lacks ‘Moral Authority To Lead,’ 200 Professors Say Following Controversy Over Campus Doctor
But about an hour after the faculty members sent the letter urging President C.L. Max Nikias to step aside, USC board Chairman John Mork released a statement saying that while trustees were "troubled by the distressing reports" about the campus doctor, he and others on its executive committee "strongly support" Nikias.
The New York Times:
200 Professors Call For Ouster Of U.S.C. President, Citing Lack Of ‘Moral Authority’
Two hundred professors at the University of Southern California have demanded the resignation of the school’s president, C.L. Max Nikias, saying that he no longer had the “moral authority to lead” and had failed to protect students and staff from “repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct.” The letter was addressed to the board of trustees of the private university and signed by senior faculty members, who said they wanted to “express our outrage and disappointment” over how Mr. Nikias had handled reports that a gynecologist at the campus health center had mistreated students for decades. (Medina and Arango, 5/22)
The Associated Press:
USC President Urged To Resign Over Response To Complaints
Dr. George Tyndall routinely made crude comments, took inappropriate photographs and forced plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment for his "sexual gratification," according to civil lawsuits filed this week. The latest complaint announced by attorney Gloria Allred was filed Tuesday on behalf of Daniella Mohazab, a USC student seeking a master's degree in communications management. Mohazab said Tyndall saw her at the clinic in 2016 for an STD test. Tyndall made comments about her Filipina heritage, including telling her that "Filipinas are good in bed," according to court documents. (5/22)
The Washington Post:
Pressure Mounts On USC President To Resign After Scandals
The chairman of the school’s board of trustees expressed strong support for the school’s president Tuesday. The trustees’ executive committee has full confidence in the “leadership, ethics and values” of USC President C.L. Max Nikias, the board’s chairman John Mork said in a statement, “and is certain that he will successfully guide our community forward.” Nikias released an action plan Tuesday to change the campus culture. (Svrluga, 5/22)
Los Angeles Times:
200 USC Professors Demand Nikias Step Down; Trustees Express 'Full Confidence' In President
Nikias sent the campus community a 20-page "action plan" Tuesday that he said was prepared at the request of trustees. It called for a wide rethinking of university ethics that will include a rewrite of USC's Code of Ethics and a new presidential commission on improving campus culture. In a statement, Nikias said he understood "the faculty's anger and disappointment." "I am committed to working with them as we implement this wide-reaching plan and to rebuilding their trust," he said. (Ryan, Parvini and Hamilton, 5/22)
Los Angeles Times:
300 Patients Come Forward In USC Gynecologist Misconduct Case As LAPD Begins Investigation
About 300 people have contacted the University of Southern California about a longtime campus gynecologist accused of misconduct as administrators Tuesday began sharing the names of former patients with Los Angeles police for a criminal investigation. The university declined to say how many of the 300 callers to a dedicated hotline for Dr. George Tyndall's patients were passed on with patients' consent to the LAPD, where sex crimes detectives in the Robbery-Homicide Division will take the lead. (Hamilton, Ryan and Winton, 5/23)