This is just the latest in a series of scandals which have plagued USC over the past few years.
In January, a former USC men’s basketball assistant coach
pleaded guilty for his role in a pay-for-play scandal in which schools would funnel money through shoe companies to a player in exchange for their commitment.
In May of 2018, USC revealed that longtime former USC gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall was being investigated for sexual misconduct. Since then,
hundreds of women have come forward over accusing Tyndall of misconduct and alleging the school attempted to cover up his behavior. The scandal prompted
USC President Max Nikias to step down.
In August of 2018, USC revealed that it
had hired and fired former California Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-West Los Angeles) as a professor. USC asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to conduct a criminal investigation into a
recent suspicious $100,000 donation from a campaign fund controlled by his father, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. The 30-year-old Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was hired by USC as a professor despite not having a graduate degree.
In April 2016,
Carmen Puliafito stepped down as dean of the USC Keck School of Medicine after it was revealed he had partied with underage girls and provided drugs to his girlfriend, who was a prostitute. The California medical board later ordered Puliafito be stripped of his license to practice medicine.
In November 2016, Dr. Rohit Varma, a noted ophthalmologist, was named dean to replace Puliafito. However, in October 2017, however, he also resigned amid a report that 15-years-prior, USC reached a financial settlement with a female researcher who accused him of sexual harassment.