LOS ANGELES, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The president of the University of Southern California (USC) has agreed to step down over the scandal of a longtime campus gynecologist who is accused of sexual misconduct to female patients, the USC Board of Trustees said Friday.
"Today, President (C. L. Max) Nikias and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees have agreed to begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president. We recognize the need for change and are committed to a stable transition," said Rick J. Caruso, chairman of Subcommittee of the Executive Committee of the USC Board of Trustees, in a statement
"We appreciate the voices of the many members of the university community who have expressed indignation from the harm inflicted on our students by Dr.(George) Tyndall," Caruso said.
"The University of Southern California is governed by a Board of Trustees, with both a fiduciary and legal responsibility to that community. We have heard the message that something is broken and that urgent and profound actions are needed," he said.
The statement does not mention the timing of Nikias' departure.
Two hundred professors at USC on Tuesday called upon Nikias to step aside over the gynecologist scandal, criticizing him for failure to protect students and staff from repeated and pervasive sexual harassments and misconduct.
"He has lost the moral authority to lead the University, and in addition, to lead the investigation of institutional failures that allowed this misconduct to persist over several decades," said the professors in a letter to the Board of Trustees.
Tyndall had worked as the only fulltime gynecologist at the USC student clinic for 27 years. According to the Los Angeles Times' investigation, complaints about his repeated misconduct toward young female patients started in early 1990s, including improperly photographing students' genitals, touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.
The USC is a leading private research university located in Los Angeles in the U.S. state of California. A total of 45,500 students were enrolled in the 2017-2018 academic year, including around 5,400 from China's mainland.
More than 300 people, most of them former female patients of Tyndall, have come forward with allegations of mistreatment and sexual abuse by Tyndall that date back to the early 1990s, Los Angeles Times reported.
The USC has been sued by some former students over the scandal. The university fired two longtime student health clinic administrators last week.
According to the Los Angeles Times, some of Tyndall's colleagues feared that the gynecologist was targeting the university's growing population of Chinese students in recent years. Those Chinese students often had a limited knowledge of the English language and American medical norms.
The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles expressed its deep concern over the scandal last week, requesting the university to take serious steps to investigate the issue and protect Chinese students from illegal acts.
Three former Chinese students of the USC filed lawsuits against damage caused by Tyndall this week, said their attorneys in a press conference on Tuesday.
Nikias became the USC's 11th president in August 2010. He has been at the USC since 1991, as a professor, director of national research centers, dean, provost, and president.
