FILE - This March 12, 2019 file photo shows the University Village area of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The past year has been a bruising one for the Los Angeles university. The president who helped boost the school's endowment above $6 billion had to step down amid investigations into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a prostitute who overdosed, its longtime gynecologist was accused of sexual misconduct by hundreds of women he examined over decades and an assistant men's basketball coach pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an FBI probe of corruption in college basketball. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon,File)
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The University of Southern California's place at the center of a national college admissions bribery scheme has added to the string of recent scandals at the school.
The past two years have been bruising for the athletic powerhouse that has climbed the ranks of academic achievements in recent decades.
USC President C.L. Max Nikias, who boosted the school's endowment and prestige, stepped down after a longtime campus gynecologist was accused of decades of sexual misconduct involving hundreds of women.
That followed the resignation of the former medical school dean accused of using drugs and a guilty plea by an assistant men's basketball coach in an FBI probe of corruption in college hoops.
With students, faculty and alums criticizing USC's leadership, Interim President Wanda Austin has vowed to restore trust.
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Associated Press Writer Amanda Lee Myers contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Sept. 2, 2010 file photo Roy Nwaisser, of Los Angeles, cheers during an NCAA college football game between the University of Southern California and Hawaii at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Nwaisser has four degrees from the University of Southern California and is a super fan of its storied football squad - he hasn't missed a home or away game in 27 years. But his devotion has been tested by a series of scandals culminating with the schoolâs starring role in a massive college admissions bribery case that is the latest disgrace threatening to tarnish USCâs hard-fought reputation as an academic, as well as athletic, powerhouse. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner,File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this May 12, 2017 file photo, University of Southern California President C.L. Max Nikias attends the University of Southern California's Commencement Ceremony at Alumni Park in Los Angeles. The past year has been a bruising one for the Los Angeles university. The president who helped boost the school's endowment above $6 billion had to step down amid investigations into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a prostitute who overdosed, its longtime gynecologist was accused of sexual misconduct by hundreds of women he examined over decades and an assistant men's basketball coach pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an FBI probe of corruption in college basketball. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this March 12, 2019 file photo, people pose for photos in front of the iconic Tommy Trojan statue on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The past year has been a bruising one for the Los Angeles university. The president who helped boost the school's endowment above $6 billion had to step down amid investigations into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a prostitute who overdosed, its longtime gynecologist was accused of sexual misconduct by hundreds of women he examined over decades and an assistant men's basketball coach pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an FBI probe of corruption in college basketball. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
The Associated Press