Over the past three weeks, we’ve been in conversation with many faculty, students, staff, alumni, and parents who have been personally and profoundly impacted by the violence in Israel and Gaza.
Yesterday, the federal government announced new actions to address antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses.
In recognition of your hard work, we are pleased to announce that USC will be offering an extended Winter Recess for all eligible employees, to begin on Thursday, December 21, 2023, and end on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. We will return to the office on January 3, 2024.
I want to welcome our students back from fall break. Even a couple of days off can be restorative. These past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for many members of our community. I hope you found time for yourselves and were able to get some much-needed rest.
Like many of you, university leadership has been following events in the U.S. Congress, as we approach the deadline for a government shutdown, set to begin on Sunday, October 1. At this time, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not provided final guidance to federal agencies about what actions they may or may not take during a shutdown.
It is my pleasure to announce Erik Brink as our new senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer. A highly skilled strategist and leader with a passion for the Trojan Family, Erik has nearly two decades of experience in senior finance roles at USC. Erik graciously agreed to serve in this role in an interim capacity earlier this year.
Our student conduct processes focus on education and supporting your next steps to be successful in your personal, academic, and professional lives at USC. Each year offices and academic departments across the entire university review and assess the policies in the handbook. After careful review, the university makes changes to improve efficiency and transparency.
We have been monitoring the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary very closely, and fortunately, have had only isolated flooding at our campuses that won’t impact classes. As a result, we will continue to operate normally, and classes for the fall semester will begin on Monday, August 21 as planned.
Today, USC Student Affairs becomes USC Student Life. In line with the Unifying Values, the renaming reflects our community’s dedication to students.
It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Andrew Guzman as USC’s next provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, starting July 1, 2023. Dr. Guzman is a renowned legal scholar and economist, and an innovative academic leader with decades of experience building programs across multiple disciplines. In his new role, he will also hold the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Provost’s Chair.