Message to the USC Community
Dear Colleagues,
As you may have heard, today Dr. Rohit Varma resigned as dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
I understand how upsetting this situation is to all of us, but we felt it was in the best interest of the faculty, staff, and students for all of us to move in this direction. Today we learned previously undisclosed information that caused us to lose confidence in Dr. Varma’s ability to lead the school. Our leaders must be held to the highest standards. Dr. Varma understands this, and chose to step down.
I am working in all due haste to name an interim dean, followed by a full national search process. I know there are many important issues to be attended to in the near future, and I look forward to working closely with the Keck School of Medicine in the days and months ahead.
I am enormously proud of the work performed by our faculty, staff, and students at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and the school remains central to our vision for creating the great 21st century research university.
Cc: C. L. Max Nikias
Academic Senate
Academic Deans
President’s Cabinet
Provost’s Cabinet