Los Angeles Times - 21.09.2019

A6 S LATIMES.COM

Board of Trustees Chair-
man Rick Caruso focused
his remarks on redemption,
which he said USC needs af-
ter a period in which the uni-
versity abandoned humility.
“Something has been
lost. We are here to get it
back,” the billionaire mall
developer said.
There were no mentions
of former President C.L.
Max Nikias during the hour
and a half of speeches and
musical performances, and
Folt made only brief allu-
sions to the scandals that
forced out the once-power-
ful leader last year.
“I want to assure you that
we will continue to tackle
these problems until they
are corrected,” she said.
She drew the biggest ap-
plause on topics unrelated
to negative headlines: her
commitment to immigrant
students, a promise to make
USC more affordable and
plans to position the uni-
versity as a leader against
climate change.
Many faculty and stu-
dents indicated they will be
paying close attention to the
vision Folt maps out.
“This is really a moment
of decision for the uni-
versity,” said classics and
comparative literature pro-
fessor Greg Thalmann, who
has taught at USC for 32
years. “Either it is going to
clean up its problems, go for-
ward and become the insti-
tution it has the potential to
become, or it is going to slide
into mediocrity.”
In an apparent acknowl-
edgment of the massive
changes needed on campus,
Folt retained the prestigious
— and pricey — consulting
firm McKinsey & Co. to help
plan her tenure.
Since starting in July, she
has moved rapidly to install
key executives, including a
new provost as well as ad-
ministrators overseeing
communications, human re-
sources and student affairs.
Her most significant deci-
sion came this month when
she forced out athletic direc-
tor Lynn Swann, a former
sportscaster. Swann, a be-
loved Trojans football star of
the 1970s, was regarded by
many as unqualified, but
had a close friendship with
USC’s largest donor, B.
Wayne Hughes.
She also worked behind
the scenes to placate an acri-
monious dispute at USC’s
Marshall School of Business.
After the interim president,
Dr. Wanda Austin, forced
out the school’s popular
dean, Jim Ellis, three billion-
aire trustees and other
prominent donors began
squabbling publicly about
whether his ouster was war-
ranted. Folt helped recruit a
star replacement, the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania’s
Wharton School Dean

Geoffrey Garrett, which

mollified some quarters.

In a break with tradition,

Folt is not living in the presi-

dential mansion in San Mar-

ino, which has been home to

USC leaders since the early

1980s. Instead, the university

is renting her a house in

Santa Monica with a listed

rent of $35,000 a month.

Asked about her choice of

residence, Folt said in an in-

terview that like most col-

lege presidents, she needed

a large space off-campus to

entertain hundreds of peo-

ple. She also cited earth-

quake safety concerns at the

San Marino house.

“I am told it needs a cur-

rent seismic evaluation,” she

told The Times in a written

statement. “While that eval-

uation is underway, I am liv-

ing in Santa Monica.”

Folt has been highly vis-

ible on campus, especially to

students. On move-in day in

late August, she greeted

scores of parents and fresh-

men in dormitories — some-

thing that trustee David

Bohnett said he learned

from a friend who was mov-

ing his daughter onto cam-

pus.

“That’s a story she won’t

tell the trustees but it’s just

who she is,” said Bohnett.

“She is really all about the

students and the faculty. Of

course it’s not just that —

she’s a very substantive

leader — but with a lot of

compassion and humanity.”

She is a frequent specta-

tor at athletic competitions,

takes selfies with students

she passes on the quad,

chronicles her days via In-

stagram and has regular

lunches with student

groups. During the inaugu-

ration ceremony, she left the

stage in front of Doheny Me-

morial Library to wade into

the raucous student section.

Skye Parral, president of

Graduate Student Govern-

ment, said that Folt im-

pressed her at these meals

by encouraging students to

ask about any topic.

“She will open up the

floor for questions and an-

swers,” said Parral, a doctor-

al student in psychology.

“We haven’t had that be-

fore.”

An environmental scien-

tist raised in Ohio, Folt grad-

uated from UC Santa Bar-

bara before earning a doc-

torate from UC Davis. She

began teaching at Dart-

mouth in 1983 and ascended

to provost and interim presi-

dent at the Ivy League uni-

versity before leaving for

Chapel Hill.

She assumed the job of

UNC chancellor at a time the

school was reeling from reve-

lations of academic fraud in-

volving student athletes and

“no-show” classes. Folt was

left to deal with the fallout.

She commissioned an inves-

tigation by a former federal

prosecutor, instituted re-

forms to protect academic

integrity and dealt with an

NCAA probe.

Her handling of a subse-

quent quagmire drew less

praise. In 2018, protesters de-

manded the removal from

UNC grounds of a Confeder-

ate statue known as Silent

Sam. After the protesters

tore down the memorial,

Folt and the public school’s

trustees suggested building

an on-campus facility for the

monument, a plan that an-

gered both those for and

against the display of Silent

Sam, and was ultimately

scrapped.

As one of her final acts,

she ordered the remaining

pedestal removed, arguing

that it posed a danger to stu-

dent safety. In the face of

heavy criticism from some

board members, she was

forced to step down.

By then, she was already

pursuing the USC job.

Her speech Friday morn-

ing was briefly interrupted

by a handful of protesters

chanting: “Who do you re-

spect? Who do you serve?”

She paused, told the

crowd free speech was im-

portant on campus and then

continued with her remarks.

At USC, Folt will oversee

the education of 47,000 stu-

dents as well as a $1.7-billion

medical enterprise that in-

cludes hospitals and clinics

throughout the region. The

university is the largest pri-

vate employer in Los Ange-

les.

Folt will also be responsi-

ble for cleaning up many of

the messes that occurred

under the stewardship of her

predecessor, Nikias. The col-

lege admissions scandal,

which was centered in USC’s

athletic department, will

continue to play out in fed-

eral court. In her speech Fri-

day, Folt announced an

“overhaul” of admissions led

by USC’s new provost.

There are also some 700

civil lawsuits against USC

pending in state Superior

Court over the alleged sexu-

al abuse of students by for-

mer campus gynecologist

George Tyndall. In addition,

the university brokered a

$215-million federal class ac-

tion settlement last year to

compensate all of Tyndall’s

former patients. Tyndall,

who has denied wrongdoing,

awaits trial on criminal

charges.

It was the revelation of

Tyndall’s allegedly inappro-

priate conduct — and how

USC mishandled it — that

turned the traditionally pas-

sive faculty into an outspo-

ken and well-organized re-

sistance. Hundreds de-

manded Nikias’ resignation,

and eventually got it.

Since then, professors

have grown even more em-

boldened. Concerned Facul-

ty of USC, a group formed

last year, is advocating for

faculty oversight of student

health, admissions and

other facets of the uni-

versity. Folt has spoken with

leaders of Concerned Facul-

ty, but some have grumbled

about her lack of response to

their proposals and con-

cerns. Among faculty de-

mands is the release of re-

ports commissioned by the

trustees into the college ad-

mission scandal and a for-

mer medical school dean

who was abusing metham-

phetamine and other drugs

while overseeing doctor

training and treating pa-

tients.

The misdeeds — and the

accompanying damage to

USC’s reputation — have

been at times difficult to

bear, said Corii Berg, presi-

dent of the alumni associ-

ation and the general coun-

sel of Lionsgate, the film and

TV studio.

“It has been humbling,

there’s no question,” Berg

said. “We can’t ignore what

has transpired, and I think

we have to learn from it.”

In conversations with

Folt and in meetings, Berg

said he found her smart and

refreshingly unscripted.

“She speaks from a very

big heart, and I don’t find

that very often in leaders

and executives,” he said. “I

think she’s the perfect leader

to write USC’s next great

chapter.”

Folt faces a daunting task: Fix USC

CAROL FOLT, who was inaugurated Friday as USC’s 12th president, celebrates with Rick Caruso, chairman of the board of trustees.

Al SeibLos Angeles Times

[Folt,from A1]

cause the whistleblower’s
identity and the specifics of
the complaint remain under
wraps.
The former vice presi-
dent has denied any wrong-
doing.
“Not one single credible
outlet has given any credibil-
ity to [Trump’s] assertions,”
Biden said after a campaign
event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“I have no comment, except
the president should start to
be president.”
The whistleblower com-
plaint was filed on Aug. 12
with the intelligence com-
munity’s inspector general,
Michael Atkinson, who noti-
fied the House Intelligence
Committee on Sept. 9 be-
cause he considered the
complaint “urgent” and
“credible.”
Atkinson, a former fed-
eral prosecutor who was ap-
pointed to his current posi-
tion by Trump, stressed the
urgency of the matter in a
second letter on Sept. 17, say-
ing it “relates to one of the
most significant and impor-
tant of the [director of na-
tional intelligence’s] respon-
sibilities to the American
people.”
Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-
Burbank), the committee
chairman, has fought to ob-
tain a copy of the complaint.
But the acting director of na-
tional intelligence, Joseph
Maguire, has refused to re-
lease it.
The top lawyer for
Maguire’s office wrote in a
letter to Schiff that the com-
plaint “concerned conduct
by someone outside the in-
telligence community and
did not relate to any ‘intelli-

gence activity’ under the

DNI’s supervision,” mean-

ing there was no require-

ment to provide it to Con-

gress.

Democrats say Maguire

is violating the law, which his

office denies. The dispute is

likely to become a new front

in the legal battles between

House Democrats and the

White House.

Presidents have wide

latitude to deal with foreign

leaders and disclose classi-

fied information, so it wasn’t

immediately clear why

Trump’s conduct triggered

an intelligence officer’s com-

plaint to the inspector gen-

eral. Schiff said there’s no

reason to believe the

whistleblower merely disa-

greed with Trump’s policies.

“This involves something

more sinister, something in-

volving a serious or flagrant

abuse or violation of law or

misappropriation,” he said

Friday.

Maguire is scheduled to

testify publicly on Capitol

Hill next Thursday.

Democratic leaders ral-

lied around Schiff ’s efforts.

The dispute raises “grave,

urgent concerns for our na-

tional security,” House

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-

San Francisco) said in a

statement. If Trump “has

done what has been alleged,

then he is stepping into a

dangerous minefield with

serious repercussions for his

administration and our

democracy” she added.

Trump has made no secret

of wanting Ukrainian au-

thorities to investigate Bid-

en, an effort that could boost

his reelection effort, much as

he demanded U.S. author-

ities investigate his 2016 op-

ponent, Hillary Clinton.

“He’s a guy who has no

boundaries,” said Anthony

Scaramucci, who was briefly

Trump’s communications

director and has since be-

come an outspoken critic.

“He’ll do and say anything if

he thinks it will help him.”

The president’s personal

lawyer, former New York

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani,

has publicly urged Ukraine’s

prosecutors to reopen an in-

vestigation involving

Burisma Holdings, a natural

gas company where Hunter

Biden was a board member.

The company was scruti-

nized by a top Ukrainian

prosecutor several years

ago, but the Obama admin-

istration wanted him ousted

as part of a crackdown on

corruption in Kyiv. Biden,

then the vice president,

threatened to withhold a $1-

billion loan guarantee to

Ukraine if the prosecutor

wasn’t sacked, and he was

pushed out in March 2016.

No available evidence in-

dicates that Biden’s demand

was linked to his son, a Los

Angeles resident who has

not faced any accusations of

wrongdoing for his role at

Burisma. It’s unclear

whether the investigation

into the energy company

was active when the prose-

cutor was pushed out.

Giuliani’s efforts to spark

a new investigation in

Ukraine reflects Trump’s

fixation on a potential cam-

paign match-up with Biden,

whom he’s watched carefully

in the run-up to next year’s

primary season. The presi-

dent has regularly asked al-

lies and friends how he could

attack the former vice presi-

dent and how he might fare

in that fight.

Taras Berezovets, who

heads the Kyiv-based politi-

cal consulting firm Berta

Communications, said “it is

not news here” that Trump

wants the Burisma investi-

gation reopened.

“If Zelensky goes ahead

and does it, that will be stra-

tegically ruinous for the rela-

tions between our coun-

tries,” he said. “That would

be direct meddling in U.S. in-

ternal affairs.”

There are suspicions that

the dispute may be tied to

U.S. military assistance for

Ukraine, which has been

battling Russian-based sep-

aratists occupying Crimea.

The White House delayed

providing $250 million worth

of aid authorized by Con-

gress, finally releasing it this

month.

“When I was in Ukraine in

early September, Ukrainian

officials fretted that U.S. mil-

itary assistance — then on

hold at the request of the

White House — was being

held hostage to earlier Giu-

liani requests for dirt on

Hunter Biden,” said Jeffrey

Feltman, a former United

Nations undersecretary-

general for political affairs.

There was a sense of deja

vu in Washington over the

latest White House mystery,

which erupted five months

after former special counsel

Robert S. Mueller III re-

leased his report on the Rus-

sia investigation.

That case also revolved,

in part, around Ukraine.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s for-

mer campaign chairman,

was sentenced to 7 1/2 years

in prison for tax evasion,

bank fraud and other crimes

related to his work as a polit-

ical consultant for the coun-

try’s pro-Russian govern-

ment, which has since lost

power.

Mueller ultimately did

not establish a criminal con-

spiracy between Trump’s

campaign and Moscow’s ef-

forts to interfere in the 2016

election. Although Mueller

laid out ways the president

tried to block the investiga-

tion, Atty. Gen. William Barr

and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod

Rosenstein concluded that

Trump did not obstruct jus-

tice.

House Democrats have

been slow to advance their

own investigations since

then, and Pelosi has avoided

backing impeachment hear-

ings, saying Congress would

need overwhelming evi-

dence and bipartisan sup-

port before trying to oust the

president.

But now Trump faces the

prospect of an entirely new

scandal, complete with the

drip-drip of leaks and mush-

rooming speculation about

misconduct in office.

“It could be a whopping

big deal if the president of

the United States was using

American governmental

power to get a foreign power

to help do his bidding in ex-

change for aid or other con-

cessions from the U.S. —

that would be absolutely

lawless,” said Rep. Ted Lieu

(D-Torrance), who already

supports an impeachment

inquiry over the Russia in-

vestigation.

Times special

correspondent Sergei L.

Loiko contributed to this

report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Times staff writers Tracy

Wilkinson and Jennifer

Haberkorn contributed

from Washington, and

Times staff writer David

Lauter from Cedar Rapids,

Iowa.

Trump on defensive over whistleblower complaint

REP. ADAM B. SCHIFFbelieves the whistleblower

case involves serious violations by President Trump.

Alex WongGetty Images

[Whistleblower,from A1]