Ousted USC president received $7.7M payout in wake of sex-abuse, drug scandals
He was president of the University of Southern California during a sex abuse scandal involving a campus gynecologist, for which the U.S. Department of Education condemned the school for its “complete failure to protect students” after decades of complaints.
But when C.L. Max Nikias stepped down in the wake of the scandal in August 2018, he walked away with a compensation package totaling nearly $7.7 million – more than three times his previous annual compensation, a USA TODAY review of just-released tax documents shows. That would have put him at the top of the most recent list of compensation for private university leaders by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
USC officials declined to speak with USA TODAY about the compensation, as detailed in the private university’s most recent tax filings. A statement from the USC board of trustees said the group voted to honor Nikias’ contract and agreed “to certain other provisions to accelerate his departure.”
The tax filing revealed a $3 million, no-interest housing loan for Nikias, who lived in the on-campus president’s home through the end of 2018. Nikias bought a Manhattan Beach home from sports media personality Colin Cowherd for $4.1 million in the fall of 2018, according to the Los Angeles Times.
After an investigation by the Department of Education released in February, USC had to overhaul its processes for following Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sexual discrimination in education.
"This total and complete failure to protect students is heartbreaking and inexcusable," U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement.
Nikias, who is still a faculty member at the university and is listed as “president emeritus,” was not directly involved in the accusations against George Tyndall, a gynecologist at the university for decades who was charged with sexually assaulting female students. The LA County district attorney filed six more counts of sexual assault and battery last week against the 73-year-old, making a total of 35 charges against him.
The original charges: Longtime USC gynecologist George Tyndall charged in sex assaults of 16 women
Nikias, whose tenure began in 2010, was president when a scandal erupted involving then-medical school dean Carmen Puliafito.
Puliafito had been associating with criminals and was filmed apparently smoking methamphetamine. Puliafito resigned as dean in 2016. The university fired him in 2017 after a Los Angeles Times story documented his illicit behavior, including drug-fueled parties in hotel rooms.
The university was also implicated in the national college admissions scandal known as Varsity Blues, in which wealthy parents were accused of paying bribes or faking academic and athletic credentials to help secure their children spots at highly selective colleges. Several of USC's coaches have since pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scandal, which ran from 2011 to 2018.
Nikias' payout came as tuition prices were rising nationally, with students finding it increasingly difficult to pay for their education. The spread of coronavirus and its impact on in-person classes has students broadly questioning the value of a higher education.
Nikias already was among the most highly paid presidents at roughly $2.4 million in pay and benefits in 2017, according to the last survey of private university leaders by the Chronicle of Higher Education. His compensation of $7,654,938 for the year of his departure would have put him at the top of that list.
That total was about $5.4 million more than he received on average during the previous four years, excluding a $1.5 million bonus in the 2015-16 year. Nikias’ base pay for the year was listed at $1.467 million, almost identical to what he received for all of 2017.
He received $5.485 million in “other reported compensation” for that year. Nearly $1.5 million of that came from funds reported as deferred compensation in prior tax filings. The tax documents don’t detail the source for the rest of the “other” compensation, which was about $5 million more than Nikias received in the previous four years combined.
“The compensation reflects money owed to him for salary, retirement and other benefits, some of which date back to the employment agreement he entered into when he became President in 2010,” the board of trustees' statement said.
Contributing: Steve Berkowitz
Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USC president: $7.7M salary payout in wake of sexual assault scandal
