Provost Andrew Guzman won’t be going very far after his replacement is chosen. The soon-to-be Gould School of Law professor said, “I’ve learned a lot, I’ve grown a lot, I’ve loved it, even though it’s been hard.”  

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Trojan, Guzman reflected on his three years as provost amid moves from the Trump administration, ensuing layoffs and financial concerns, and backlash against the University’s response to the Spring 2024 pro-Palestinian encampments. 

“It’s been really an honor to be able to play a role in leading [the University] forward, and I think it’s in a great place,” Guzman said. “One of the great features of this university is that for a long time, it has always had a tomorrow that’s a little bit better than its yesterday, and that remains true, and that’s pretty exciting.”

Nearly a year after Guzman’s appointment in April 2023, the campus faced several student protests following the start of the Israel-Hamas war and the Oct. 7 attack, eventually culminating in an encampment in Alumni Park.

University administration called the Los Angeles Police Department on the protesters, and 93 people were arrested, most of whom were USC students. None faced charges due to “insufficient evidence.” At least 12 student protesters received interim or full suspensions from the University.

Less than two weeks later, the Academic Senate censured then-President Carol Folt and Guzman due to “widespread dissatisfaction and concern among the faculty” about the response. 

“The ground was moving underneath the feet, and what I was trying to do every day was make decisions that served the interests of the community as well as possible,” Guzman said. “I wasn’t literally making the decision, because obviously that’s the President’s job. … All you can do is make the decision at the time that you think is the best decision, and I’ve never lost any sleep thinking that I was failing to do that.” 

Guzman maintained that canceling Class of 2024 Valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s speech was because the administration “thought there was a real safety risk.”

The move came less than a week after pro-Israel groups criticized Tabassum and accused her of promoting antisemitic views and rhetoric. At the time, Guzman wrote that the cancellation of the valedictory address had “nothing to do with freedom of speech” and that there is “no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement.” 

Similarly scrutinized by the USC community were changes to language around diversity, equity and inclusion last year.

In interviews from 2023 with the Daily Trojan and Annenberg Media, Guzman stressed the importance of diversity and DEI programs on campus. Two years later, in response to pressure from the Trump administration, the University changed one of its Unifying Values from DEI to “community” and combined the Office of Inclusion and Diversity with the Culture Team. 

“We still have a lot of energy going into making sure that everybody who comes here, no matter who they are, where they’re from, what their background is, that they can thrive and succeed,” Guzman said. “It is true that we had to deal with some of those language issues, but I don’t think those are at the core of what any of us really care about.”

Guzman stressed the need for communication and good working relationships between University administration and its deans. Guzman, a former Gould dean, noted that uncertainty around federal research funding, impacts to international students and the consequences of an over $200 million deficit exposed the need for such dialogue. 

“It’s challenging to make decisions when you don’t know what’s coming later, but you also can’t wait, and that’s part of why I’m glad I was part of that process, even though it was difficult, because it required us as a team to confront difficult realities,” Guzman said. “That included regularly talking with the deans who themselves had to make decisions within their own schools [and] talking with the [Academic] Senate.”

Guzman credited the trust between the provost’s office and USC’s deans to how much he felt they were able to accomplish. He specifically pointed to projects including starting the Stevens School of Advanced Computing and the Student Success Initiative — an initiative focused on graduation rates, student retention and post-graduate employment — as well as getting the new Capital Campus “up and running and thriving.”

While the search for a new provost is underway, with President Beong-Soo Kim recently announcing the committee in charge of appointing a successor, Guzman is intent on maintaining momentum on active projects — namely, institutionalizing incentives and support for summer academic programming — and ensuring a smooth transition.

“Nobody knows how long it’ll be until the new person is named … so it’s important that I keep doing what I’m doing,” he said. “I do my job to continue working on [active projects] with only small adjustments to make sure that the transition doesn’t cause them to somehow collapse or fail.” 

Guzman said his time as provost has been “an incredible learning experience.” From interacting with those in disparate fields and with varied connections to the University, he has felt his horizons expand. Still, he looks forward to returning as part of Gould’s faculty.

“I’ve taught a little bit since I came to USC, but not a lot, so [I] definitely missed that,” Guzman said. “[I’ll] get a chance to get back to the scholarship that I was doing, which really wasn’t possible as either dean or provost, so I’m looking forward to that. It’s kind of a ‘Back to the Future’ [(1985)] opportunity to get back to the things that made me get into the business in the first place.”