University of Southern California

Office of the President

C. L. Max Nikias

USC’s 11th president, C. L. Max Nikias is an accomplished scholar and innovator whose 21 years at USC have been characterized by vision and a talent for seeing and seizing opportunities. From his creation of a multimedia research center and his energetic tenure as dean of engineering, to the pacesetting initiatives he set in motion as USC’s provost, he has helped propel USC toward its goal of becoming one of the most productive and influential research universities in the world.
Read more about President Nikias

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Mrs. Niki C. Nikias, center, accompanied by USC Alumni Association President Ramona Capello, center left.
USC Trustee Edward P. Roski, Jr.; Gayle Garner Roski; Julie Mork; USC Trustee John Mork (chairman); Niki C. Nikias; USC President C. L. Max Nikias.
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From the Office of the President

Connecting with global leaders in Davos

Topics: News

(left to right) USC President C.L. Max Nikias, Emilio Lozoya Austin, CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX)

USC President C. L. Max Nikias with Emilio Lozoya Austin, CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) in Davos, Switzerland

USC President C.L. Max Nikias just returned from Davos, Switzerland, where he attended the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting last week. The event convenes 2,500 industry and national leaders from across the world to discuss international challenges and shape global agendas.

While at the Annual Meeting, President Nikias participated as a special guest in the annual governors meeting of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF). The GULF group consists of the top administrators of the world’s leading research universities who convene regularly to cultivate partnerships, exchange ideas and tackle crucial issues. Outside of his engagement with the GULF group, President Nikias’ schedule consisted of interactive sessions and meetings with national and industry leaders.

He also contributed written commentary on online education’s greatest promise, which was published on Agenda, an online publication of the World Economic Forum. The full article is available here.

Commerating civil rights and law enforcement

Topics: News

(left to right) USC President C.L. Max Nikias, Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey during the 6th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Los Angeles Police Department breakfast, Saturday, January 10, 2015. USC Photos/Gus Ruelas

USC President C. L. Max Nikias, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, and LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey. (USC Photo / Gus Ruelas)

USC hosted an event on campus on January 10, 2014 in cooperation with the Los Angeles Police Department, marking the ongoing legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The law enforcement community came together for the 6th annual Los Angeles Police Department Martin Luther King Breakfast, attended by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson, new Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. USC President C. L. Max Nikias welcomed police officers and city officials prior to a keynote address by United States District Judge Andre Birotte, Jr.

USC Experience Initiative receives boost from groundbreaking author Joseph Pine

Topics: News

USC President Nikias, author Joseph Pine, and USC Trustee Rick Caruso during lunch at the USC Experience Retreat held at USC in Los Angeles, CA. Nov 20, 2014. USC Photo / David Sprague.

USC President Nikias, author Joseph Pine, and USC Trustee Rick Caruso during lunch at the USC Experience Retreat held at USC in Los Angeles, CA. Nov 20, 2014. USC Photo / David Sprague.

“Why do people go to university?” author B. Joseph Pine II asked a roomful of USC leaders.

It’s not for the ideas or the books or the classroom instruction, he said. It’s not even for the out-of-classroom encounters, though that’s getting a bit closer.

“It’s because they’re looking to be transformed.”

The renowned author and business consultant was the featured speaker at this year’s President’s Leadership Retreat, held Nov. 20. Some 400 USC managers gathered in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center ballroom that morning to listen and then brainstorm on the university’s place in what Pine has dubbed “the experience economy.”

The event doubled as the formal launch of The USC Experience initiative, a new push to integrate Pine’s business ideas into the fabric of Trojan life.

Read the full article on USC News.

Presidential priorities

  • Transforming USC into a major hub of the emerging Age of the Pacific—by creating trans-Pacific alliances, by fully utilizing Los Angeles as a laboratory for trans-Pacific research, education and culture, and by building the foremost network of Pacific leaders.

  • Ensuring that the USC academic community serves as a key engine of intellectual, economic and cultural progress for the nation, and allowing its vast array of disciplines to be combined creatively in order to catalyze new knowledge and innovation.

  • Ensuring that USC promotes imagination and invention by creating a living and learning environment in which the university’s undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty are fluent in a wide variety of intellectual areas, ranging from classical literary works to the latest digital technologies.

  • Serving the neighborhoods around our two campuses through job creation and quality k-12 education. Further strengthening the legendary traditions of the Trojan Family.

  • Leading USC during the most ambitious fundraising campaign ever announced by an American university. This historic endeavor will raise $6 billion to support USC's faculty and students, as well as its academic priorities, capital projects, and essential infrastructure.