C.L. Max Nikias was inaugurated as USC's 11th president Friday, more than two months after assuming the position.
Nikias was named in March by the university's Board of Trustees to succeed Steven B. Sample, who retired from the post he had held since 1991. Nikias became president Aug. 3. More than 10,000 people were expected to attend the inauguration at USC's Alumni Park.
The ceremony began with a procession of USC students and faculty members wearing colorful academic regalia. More than 100 international students in the procession bore flags representing their home nations.
Nikias was among about 75 candidates reviewed by an advisory committee of trustees and senior faculty after Sample announced his retirement in November. Seven finalists, all either presidents or provosts at major universities, were interviewed by the committee.
Before becoming president, Nikias had been USC's provost since 2005. As provost, Nikias established new undergraduate scholarship programs rewarding scholarship and global academic immersion, quintupled funding for Ph.D. fellowships to $20 million per year and recruited interdisciplinary scholars as Provost's Professors.
Nikias was recruited by USC in 1991 to develop a national-caliber center for multimedia research and became the founding director and principal investigator for the Integrated Media Systems Center. The center's proposal to the National Science Foundation in 1996 was ranked first among 117.
Nikias was dean of USC's Viterbi School of Engineering from 2001 to 2005, becoming the only dean in USC history to raise more than $200 million in such a short period.
![](https://media.nbclosangeles.com/2019/09/LA_aerial-1-1.png?fit=2060%2C847&quality=85&strip=all&w=400&h=44&crop=1)
Nikias Inaugurated as USC's 11th President
Thousands were expected to attend the ceremony at Alumni Park
Copyright City News Service