Presidential search committee and interim president announced; DEI rebranded; upcoming events
A round-up of news, plus details of two campus events.
Presidential Search Committee and Interim President Announced
President Folt will be stepping down at the end of this academic year. On February 5th, USC announced that they’ve begun the search process for a new president.
The university has launched a website dedicated to the presidential search. You can see all the members of the search committee here. We’re hoping they appoint a president who values academic freedom and prioritizes the pursuit of truth, regardless of the current political popularity of that truth.
Her role will be filled in the interim by Senior Vice President and General Counsel Beong-Soo Kim.
Kim has been with USC since 2020, helping the university to weather a variety of crises, including the fallout from both the Tyndall case and the Varsity Blues incident, the COVID-19 pandemic, the valedictorian controversy and the recent Pro-Palestine encampments.
In good news, Kim seems supportive of efforts to strengthen academic freedom at the university. He’s serving as an advisory member of the newly launched Provost-Senate Task Force on Academic Freedom, and has hosted several webinars providing information about academic freedom rights on campus.
If you missed it, last week we shared an op-ed from Anna Krylov, USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry.
Opinion: Academic Freedom at USC
Today Heterodox at USC brings you an opinion piece from group member Anna Krylov. We welcome feedback and responses to this piece via email at heterodox.usc@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, February 18th at 7pm: Book Talk with Jonathan Haidt
The Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall
Jonathan Haidt joins Varun Soni, USC Dean of Religious Life, to discuss his book The Anxious Generation, which details the epidemic of teen mental illness that has hit many countries at the same time, thanks in large part to the “phone-based childhood” that began to arise in the early 2010s.
Haidt’s book covers dozens of of mechanisms by which this “great rewiring of childhood” has interfered with children’s social and neurological development. He also proposes steps that parents, teachers, schools, tech companies and governments can take to end the epidemic of mental illness and restore a more humane childhood.
This event is open to the public, but all guests must register. Details and RSVP here»
Wednesday, March 5th at 12pm: Blindspot Film Screening
Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) Room 101
Heterodox Academy at USC is co-hosting a showing of Blindspot, a student-led film documenting the increase in antisemitism on college campuses since Oct. 7th, 2023. Snacks provided. Details and RSVP»
The Case of the Missing Statue
The College Fix covered the missing statue of USC founder Judge Widney, with help from James Moore, professor emeritus of systems and industrial engineering at USC Viterbi. The statue, which we’ve covered a number of times previously, was removed without explanation and has been missing for 14 months. It was recently reported by The Daily Trojan that Widney was likely returning to campus, alongside other statues of university founders, but his pedestal still remains empty.
Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Pauses “Gender Treatments”
In a previous newsletter, we covered the lawsuit against Johanna Olson-Kennedy, USC professor of clinical pediatrics and the director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, one of the largest providers of healthcare for “transgender children.” She’s currently being sued by a former patient who was put on cross-sex hormones at age 13 and had her breasts removed at the age of 14.
Now, due to executive orders from President Trump, it appears that CHLA is pausing any new hormonal “treatments” for children with gender dysphoria. We suspect the pause may cut down on the number of future lawsuits from patients who’ve had their healthy breasts or genitals removed.
The Ideas that Won’t DEI
As reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion across both public and private institutions. His order directed each federal agency to identify “up to nine potential civil rights compliance investigations”, including higher-education institutions with endowments above $1 billion. This could include USC, as our endowment currently sits at $7.6 billion.
This may explain why USC seems to be conducting a bit of a shell game in regards to DEI programs and staff.
The person who was once “Associate Dean and Chief Diversity Officer for Dornsife College” at USC Dornsife (the university’s largest school) has now become “Associate Dean, Academic Culture and Well-being.”
What was recently the USC Dornsife Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) office has become the “Office of Equity and Engagement” starting in the 2024-2025 academic year.
The name change doesn’t appear to accompany any substantive changes to programming. Their website assures us: “The new name simply reduces the four DEIB values to their greatest common denominator. In our view, equity*, when properly centered, acts as a force multiplier that enlivens the other three and increases their impact.”
As they also explain: “We hope that our new name, Equity & Engagement, feels light and inviting, and that our partners and friends find it easy to say and no problem to remember.” Ah yes, the light and inviting nature of political litmus tests, race-based hiring, hostile workplaces, and punishing people for wrong speak (tactics which have long been known to not even work to increase representation anyways).
DEI remains as active on campus as ever, of course. Recently, staff were encouraged to sign up for the Dornsife Leads 2.0 program, which will equip another round of staff members with these valuable skills.
Interesting News and Research from USC
USC study reveals Earth’s inner core is undergoing structural transformation
$10.8 million award funds USC-led clinical trial to improve hip fracture outcomes
New USC partnership offers dental care to homeless families
USC research teams awarded NEMO Prizes for work at the intersection of health, engineering
We welcome your news, opinions, and responses. Please contact us at heterodoxatusc@substack.com. We’d also appreciate if you forwarded our email to USC faculty, alumni, parents, staff and students who may share our concerns and priorities.