The diverse group charged with selecting USC’s next president includes a former Goldman Sachs executive, a prominent social worker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and the founding CEO of the nation’s largest health benefits company.
Rick Caruso, the billionaire developer leading the search committee, said Tuesday that the 23 faculty members and trustees on the panel reflect a broad spectrum of views but have the singular goal of choosing a leader who can guide the university out of a series of damaging scandals.
The committee includes Viet Thanh Nguyen, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and a tenured professor; Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a real estate developer who has prominently supported President Trump; David Bohnett, a tech entrepreneur and philanthropist; and Elizabeth M. Daley, the dean of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and the longest-tenured dean at the university.