LOS ANGELES _ The University of Southern California appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post.
Nikias, embattled over his administration's handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USC's board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university.
The trustees also approved the hiring of search firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor. A second search company, Heidrick & Struggles, will also advise trustees.
"Our goal is to complete this search within four to six months," board Chairman Rick Caruso wrote in a letter Tuesday afternoon to students, faculty and alumni.
He called Austin, who received a doctorate in engineering from USC in 1988, a "professional of impeccable integrity and character" and said she was the ideal person to steer the school through a difficult time.
"She is deeply committed to USC, and I know that she plans to devote time in the coming weeks to listen to the views of faculty, staff, students and our broader community on what is needed to successfully move us into our next chapter," Caruso wrote.
Nikias was given the titles of president emeritus and life trustee and "will continue to assist with the transition of the incoming president," Caruso wrote.
The moves represent the most concrete step yet by USC to recover from a series of scandals that culminated with allegations this spring against Dr. George Tyndall. In his letter, Caruso spoke of a broad cultural change needed at USC and said reforms would extend to the board.
Its 59 voting members are a wealthy and powerful group that includes billionaires and the elites of nearly every industry. But the board has come under criticism in recent months as being too large and deferring too many of its governing responsibilities to Nikias.
Caruso said the trustees were forming a committee to improve the body and wrote that "the Board of Trustees is organized in much the same way as it was 30 years ago. That needs to change."
