California College Quietly Moves High-Paid Dean Amid Staff Revolt
USC Marshall School of Business Dean Geoffrey Garret will leave his position in August for a newly created presidential advisory role, avoiding a scheduled faculty no-confidence vote.
Geoffrey Garret, who has led the USC Marshall School of Business since 2020, will depart his post in August to assume the role of Special Advisor to the President for Global Strategy and Engagement, according to New York Post. The appointment comes just months after a faculty uprising that saw 52 professors sign a blistering letter condemning his leadership.
The April 4 letter blamed Garret for falling student enrollment and reductions to graduate programs at the prestigious business school. His attempt to address faculty concerns through a May town hall backfired spectacularly, with the session reportedly intensifying rather than quelling the discontent.
Faculty members described the meeting as a debacle to LA Material. One professor called it incredibly tone-deaf to waste the time of 260+ people, while another dismissed it as pointless. Several attendees highlighted Garret’s $1.16 million salary for fiscal year 2023 in the webchat during the event, according to ProPublica data.
A staffer who witnessed the gathering compared it to a disaster unfolding in real time. The employee suggested the situation resembled a scene where someone needed to rush onstage and pull the speaker off before things deteriorated further.
The reassignment conveniently allows Garret to avoid a faculty vote of no confidence that Marshall professors had scheduled for July. His new position will task him with strengthening university relationships, expanding international reach, and advancing opportunities, according to a Wednesday memo from Provost Andrew Guzman obtained by LA Material.
USC President Beong-Soo Kim defended the appointment, expressing confidence in Garret’s suitability for the global strategy role. Kim praised him as someone who thinks globally and possesses exceptional insight into geopolitical developments and their implications for the university.
Andrew Call, dean of USC’s accounting school, will serve as interim dean for the business school during the transition.
Garret joined USC after six years leading the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing significant Ivy League credentials to the position when he was appointed in 2020.
With information from New York Post
