"We called for President Nikias to step aside to allow new leaders to heal the damage to the university, restore the trust of the community, and help us to move forward...We ask the Board to move swiftly to announce the formal resignation of President Nikias and the installation of an interim President by the time our students arrive."<doc-sep>BELLEFONTE, PA - OCTOBER 09: Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky (C) leaves the Centre County Courthouse after being sentenced in his child sex abuse case on October 9, 2012 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. The 68-year-old Sandusky was sentenced to at least 30 years and not more that 60 years in prison for his conviction in June on 45 counts of child sexual abuse, including while he was the defensive coordinator for the Penn State college football team. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC : Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill June 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. DeVos testified on the fiscal year 2018 budget request for the Education Department. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, flanked by Michigan State Police Director Kriste Etue and special prosecutor William Forsyth, said no one at Michigan State University will be off limits to the investigation. Former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar is seen in the 55th District Court where Judge Donald Allen Jr. bound him over on June 23, 2017 in Mason, Michigan to stand trial on 12 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. / AFP PHOTO / JEFF KOWALSKY (Photo credit should read JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP/Getty Images) Current University of Southern California(USC) student Daniella Mohazab (R) speaks while seated beside attorney Gloria Allred at a press conference with former USC student Angela Esquivel Hawkins in Los Angeles, California on May 22, 2018. - A lawsuit has been filed against the University of Southern California (USC) on behalf of one of the students and calling on USC to conduct an independent investigation on allegations made by students alleging inappropriate conduct by Doctor George Tyndall, the gynecologist assigned to examine and treat USC students. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) (CNN) — University of Southern California President C. L. Max Nikias stepped down from his role effective Tuesday, according to a statement released by the school. He had announced his plans to step down as president of the university in May, after a former campus gynecologist was accused of sexual misconduct. Nikias will move into the role of president emeritus and life trustee of the university, according to USC’s statement. Board member Wanda Austin has been named interim president while the search for a permanent replacement continues. Austin served as president and CEO of the Aerospace Corp. from 2008 to 2016. Described as an advocate for STEM, minorities and women, she received a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from USC in 1988, according to the university statement. Austin previously was appointed by Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, and in 2016, she received the Goddard Astronautics Award. Rick Caruso, the chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, outlined its plans for the search for the next USC president. More than two months ago, Nikias had agreed to step down following a scandal involving Dr. George Tyndall, a former campus gynecologist accused of sexual misconduct and using racist language while examining patients. Feds probe USC’s handling of sex harassment claims That announcement came after thousands of students and alumni signed an online petition demanding his resignation, alleging that USC failed to act after complaints of misconduct involving Tyndall, who worked at a university clinic for decades. Several women have filed lawsuits against Tyndall and USC. Tyndall’s attorney told CNN in July that his client “is adamant that he engaged in no criminal conduct while practicing medicine at USC.” Leon Bennett/Getty Images C. L. Max Nikias attends the commencement ceremony at Alumni Park at USC on May 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. In response to Tuesday’s news, several lawyers representing women in lawsuits blasted the university’s decision to name Nikias the president emeritus and life trustee. Attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing 36 women who accuse Tyndall of misconduct, called the move “a slap in the face to the hundreds of female students who have alleged abuse at the hands of Dr. Tyndall.” John Manly, who represents 150 women who say they are victims of Tyndall, described the appointment for Nikias as “crazy.” Andy Rubenstein, who represents 51 plaintiffs, called Tuesday’s move “window dressing.” “A cosmetic departure 10 weeks after this was made public will do nothing to change the culture that has operated in the dark for 30 years,” he said. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Rick Caruso. CNN’s Stephanie Becker contributed to this report.<doc-sep>The president of the University of Southern California, C. L. Max Nikias, resigned on Tuesday, less than a week after hundreds of professors issued a letter demanding that he step aside before classes begin this month. The university had already pledged to “begin an orderly transition” to find a new president, but it appeared to fast-forward the process on Tuesday, announcing that Mr. Nikias would step down effective immediately. Wanda M. Austin, an engineer and former corporate chief executive, was appointed interim president. She is the first woman and the first African-American to lead the private university, U.S.C. said. The change in leadership comes after a series of scandals at the university, brought to light by The Los Angeles Times. U.S.C. came under fire for its handling of reports that the longtime gynecologist at the campus health center had mistreated students for decades. Although an internal investigation found that the doctor had conducted pelvic exams inappropriately and made offensive remarks to patients, officials settled the matter quietly and did not report it to the state medical board.<doc-sep>
Associated Press LOS ANGELES — University of Southern California President C. L. Max Nikias stepped down Tuesday in the wake of a sex-abuse scandal involving a campus gynecologist in which school administrators faced criticism they ignored decades of complaints. Nikias, who had been president since 2010, agreed to relinquish his role “effective immediately” but becomes president emeritus and a life trustee of the school, according to a letter to faculty, students and alumni from Board of Trustees Chair Rick J. Caruso. Start your day with the news you need from the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our Morning Report weekday newsletter. Trustees hope to find his successor within four to six months, Caruso said. Wanda M. Austin, who is a board member, was appointed interim president. “She is a professional of impeccable integrity and character,” Caruso wrote. Austin holds a USC engineering degree and was president and CEO of her own company, The Aerospace Corp. She is a former member of the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology and currently is on the boards of Chevron and Amgen, according to Caruso. Austin is “a strong advocate for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines as well as for minorities and women,” he wrote. Nikias, 65, agreed in May to step down at an unspecified date. He and the school faced accusations that they ignored decades of complaints against Dr. George Tyndall, a gynecologist who worked at a university clinic for 30 years. Tyndall, who has since retired, is the focus of some two dozen lawsuits and a police investigation into allegations involving at least 50 women. The lawsuits allege Tyndall routinely made crude comments, took inappropriate photographs and forced plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment. Nikias also came under fire after reports in the Los Angeles Times that USC medical school dean Dr. Carmen Puliafito associated with criminals and people who used drugs and had been captured on video apparently smoking methamphetamine. Puliafito gave up his post in 2016 but remained a faculty member until USC fired him last year. In his letter, Caruso promised reforms. “As I have said previously, it is evident that the recent crises have resulted from systemic and cultural failures,” he wrote. “Both the behavior and the environment that allowed it to persist are inexcusable and will no longer be tolerated.” Caruso said a law firm hired in May to investigate the Tyndall allegations had interviewed more than 100 witnesses and collected 4.5 million documents. He also noted that the school has a newly formed Office for Professional Ethics to monitor and investigate complaints.