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A growing revolt is unfolding at the the University of Southern California’s prestigious Marshall School of Business, where faculty are warning of the program’s downward slide.
In a sharply worded letter to USC Dean Geoffrey Garrett, 52 tenured professors flagged falling enrollment and graduate program cuts as signs of deeper trouble at the school, according to L.A. Material.
“There are clear signs of our downward trajectory in terms of academic reputation, commitment to excellence in research, and the demonstrated academic excellence of the students which graduate from our programs,” the letter states.
While faculty pushback isn’t unusual on college campuses, current and former USC administrators described the warning as rare, high-level rebuke that could force leadership to take a hard look inward.
The tensions have arisen amid a strained financial backdrop at the college. USC carried out layoffs last July to close an operating deficit that had swelled to $251 million.
“People are just not very happy,” one senior USC administrator told L.A. Material. “It’s fertile ground for conflict.”
On Wednesday, Dean Garrett told staff he wanted to “reaffirm my ongoing commitment to engaging openly and in good faith with our community,” saying he will hold a May 4 meeting to “address the faculty concerns directly.”
The pressure isn’t isolated to USC. Business schools across the country are grappling with declining enrollment as MBA programs lose appeal, the outlet reported.
Still, Marshall’s slide is drawing particular concern. Its full-time MBA program has dropped from 16th to 25th in the U.S. News & World Report rankings since 2021— a shift faculty fear could make recruiting students even harder.
“It doesn’t help that we’re ranked below UT Dallas,” one business professor remarked.
Garrett, who arrived in 2020 after leading the University of Pennsylvania’s top-ranked Wharton School for six years, remains a prominent figure at USC and chairs its AI strategy committee.
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