Daily Trojan

Provost Andrew Guzman will step down from his role as provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, according to a university-wide email sent Tuesday morning from President Beong-Soo Kim. Guzman will remain in his role until President Kim appoints a new provost and chief academic officer, after which he will become a faculty member at the Gould School of Law.

Guzman was appointed to his role in July 2023, after serving as the dean of Gould, as well as a professor of law and political science and the Carl Mason Franklin Chair in Law, beginning in 2015. 

Since 2023, Guzman has overseen the appointment of seven deans and senior leaders as the provost. He also played a role in the establishment of USC’s capital campus in Washington, D.C., which opened in March of 2023. He also helped create other university initiatives, such as the Provost-Senate Joint Task Force on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, to assess the University’s readiness to maintain academic freedom and free expression on campus.

In 2024, the Academic Senate voted to censure Guzman and then President Carol Folt, citing “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty” about USC’s handling of events related to Israel’s war in Gaza, including the cancellation of Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian address and the handling of the Spring 2024 Pro-Palestine student encampments.

In the statement from Kim, he wrote that new details about the process of appointing a new provost and chief academic officer would be announced soon.