University of Southern California faculty censured their president and provost on Wednesday over the administration’s handling of anti-Israel protests and the decision to cancel the main commencement ceremony for graduating students.
The USC Academic Senate voted 21-7 in favor of censuring the university’s president, Carol Folt, and provost, Andrew Guzman. Six members of the faculty body abstained from voting.
Last month, USC leaders canceled the valedictorian’s commencement speech and later scrapped the ceremony itself due to safety concerns following the arrest of 93 anti-Israel protesters on campus. There was “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty about administrative decisions and communication related to these events,” the censure resolution states.
Campus threats arose after Asna Tabassum, who holds pro-Palestinian views, was announced as the valedictorian and named a scheduled speaker. The threats “escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” Guzman said in a campus-wide letter on April 15.
Tabassum immediately defended her views, claiming the university silenced her as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman.
“Although this should have been a time of celebration for my family, friends, professors, and classmates, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all,” Tabassum said in a statement.
She added that she was not made aware of any specific threats toward her or USC, saying the administration denied her “request for the details underlying the university’s threat assessment.” As a result, Tabassum said she harbors “serious doubts about whether USC’s decision to revoke my invitation to speak is made solely on the basis of safety.”
The majority of the USC Academic Senate also took issue with the banning of professor John Strauss. In November, Strauss was relegated to remote teaching for the remainder of the fall semester after he denounced Hamas in front of pro-Palestinian students. A month later, he was no longer barred from campus.
Now that the censure resolution has passed, USC will create a task force to investigate the university leadership’s response to those events. The task force is expected to present a public report of its findings by September 15, according to the document. Both Folt and Guzman are expected to fully cooperate with the task force’s investigation.
“I understand there are many different viewpoints among members of the Trojan Community regarding our recent decisions,” Folt said in an emailed statement. “I’m committed to working with the Academic Senate, and the wider faculty who weren’t present at today’s session.”
Instead of holding one large commencement, which was expected to draw an estimated 65,000 people to campus, USC opted to hold multiple smaller ceremonies and celebrations over the course of four days, starting Wednesday. Columbia University made a similar decision earlier this week. Prior to its cancellation, USC’s main graduation ceremony was originally scheduled for Friday.
“Provost Guzman and I welcome ongoing engagement with the newly created task force,” Folt said. “For now, our focus is on celebrating the 19,000 graduates of USC’s Class of 2024.”
National Review has reached out to USC’s media relations team for comment.