The University of Southern California faculty censured their own president and provost this week over the administration’s handling of anti-Israel protests and the decision to cancel the main commencement ceremony for its graduating class.
The USC Academic Senate voted 21-7 in favor of censuring the university’s president, Carol Folt, and provost, Andrew Guzman. Six members of the faculty body abstained from voting, reports National Review.
USC leaders initially canceled the valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s commencement speech, who holds pro-Palestinian views and has made anti-Semitic and hateful comments publicly. The the entire ceremony itself was scrapped later, with the university claiming its actions were due to safety concerns following the arrest of 93 anti-Israel protesters on campus.
There was “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty about administrative decisions and communication related to these events,” the censure resolution states.The threats “escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” Guzman said in a campus-wide letter on April 15.
Now that the censure resolution has passed, USC will create a task force to investigate the university leadership’s response to those events. The task force is expected to present a public report of its findings by September 15, according to the document. Both Folt and Guzman are expected to fully cooperate with the task force’s investigation.
“I understand there are many different viewpoints among members of the Trojan Community regarding our recent decisions,” Folt said in an emailed statement provided to National Review. “I’m committed to working with the Academic Senate, and the wider faculty who weren’t present at today’s session.”
Instead of holding one large commencement, which was expected to draw an estimated 65,000 people to campus, USC opted to hold multiple smaller ceremonies and celebrations over the course of four days, starting Wednesday. Columbia University made a similar decision earlier this week. Prior to its cancellation, USC’s main graduation ceremony was originally scheduled for Friday.
“Provost Guzman and I welcome ongoing engagement with the newly created task force,” Folt said. “For now, our focus is on celebrating the 19,000 graduates of USC’s Class of 2024.”
