The University of Southern California's academic senate voted Wednesday to censure Carol Folt, the school's president, after a tumultuous several weeks in which the administration canceled a Muslim student's valedictory speech, cleared a protest camp within hours and called up Police arrested dozens of protesters last month.
The academic senate, made up mainly of faculty members, also supported the call for an investigation into the government's actions. The resolution, which passed by a wide margin Wednesday afternoon after a several-hour meeting, noted “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among faculty” over Dr. Folt and Andrew T. Guzman, the provost, who was also censured.
The vote represented only a fraction of the university's 4,700 faculty members, and the Senate failed to pass a vote of no confidence in the administrators, which would have been a more severe rebuke. Despite criticism, Dr. Folt received significant support from the university's administrators, and some faculty members quietly sympathized with her.
Still, the vote was “significant” with “far-reaching consequences,” said William G. Tierney, a professor emeritus of higher education at USC who has written about the response to campus protests across the country.
“The faculty petition was thoughtful and the discussion was serious,” said Dr. Tierney, a former Senate president who had criticized Dr. Folt's handling of the protest and who affirmed the vote. “No faculty wants to reprimand their president and provost. But this was justified.”
Christina Dunbar-Hester, acting president of the university chapter of the American Association of University Professors, who watched the meeting, said faculty members are particularly frustrated by a lack of communication from administrators and the speed with which Los Angeles police were called in against protesters that were not violent.
“The administrators continue to lean on 'safety' without consulting or sharing their opinions with the Senate or the broader faculty,” she said. “We don't necessarily doubt that there were safety concerns, but some are questioning whether this series of decisions has harmed and endangered members of the campus community, while also sending a message to anyone who threatens the campus that these threats work.”
The recent disruptions have once again thrust the South Los Angeles university into an unflattering spotlight.
Dr. Folt hires in 2019 was hailed as something of a fresh start after a series of highly publicized missteps, including playing a central part in the “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal. The past few years have largely been a period of quiet for USC
Several top university officials said last week that many members of the faculty and administration had understood the difficulties Dr. Folt was confronted in his handling of the protests. And many in the broader community noted that USC's experience was relatively mild compared to the violence that rocked the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, when pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters recently clashed collided.
But many parents and students were saddened by the cancellation of the school's main opening ceremony, and angry about the high security measures surrounding what remained of this week's celebration.
On Wednesday evening, Dr. Folt said in a statement that she would work with faculty members in the future, and that she and Dr. Guzman welcomed involvement in a task force created to investigate administrators' decisions.
“I understand that there are many differing views among members of the Trojan community regarding our recent decisions,” she said. “I am committed to working with the Academic Senate and the broader faculty who were not present at today's session.”
Then referring to graduation ceremonies have been scaled backwith tight security and the loss of celebrity speakers, said Dr. Folt: “For now, our focus is on celebrating the 19,000 graduates of USC's Class of 2024.”
Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting from Los Angeles.