Nikias Inaugurated as USC's 11th President

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.