For a few minutes during the investiture ceremony, President Beong-Soo Kim traded his place behind the podium for a seat among students. He sat with five student musicians from the Thornton School of Music, playing the cello and performing the first movement of Edvard Grieg’s “Holberg Suite,” accompanied by two dancers from the Kaufman School of Dance.

Around 4,500 people gathered at Alumni Park on the morning of Oct. 16 to witness Kim’s formal investiture ceremony as USC’s 13th president. Faculty, trustees, student representatives, alumni groups and University leaders gathered before a stage set against Doheny Memorial Library. 

Josh Kun, USC’s inaugural vice provost for the arts, compared the responsibilities of University leadership with the musical performance and encouraged Kim to approach his presidency with care and commitment. 

“May you be a leader who serves the faculty the way you play your cello, with full-bodied care and focus, at one with your instrument,” Kun said. “At this inflection point in higher education, when the academic mission of faculty is more under threat than at any moment in recent memory, the meaning of the notes you play matters more than ever before….I look forward to the music that we will all make together.”

Among the speakers were Dean of the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life Varun Soni, USC Board of Trustees Chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, former Northwestern University president Morton Schapiro, Director of USC Track and Field and Cross Country Quincy Watts, President of the Alumni Association Board of Governors Jessica Lall, Undergraduate Student Government president Syrabi Nur Rahman and Graduate Student Government president Janielle Cuala. 

Each speaker welcomed Kim and reflected on the responsibilities of his presidency. Johnson and the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, David Bohnett, presented Kim with the presidential medallion, marking his installation as USC’s 13th president. Towards the end of the ceremony, Kim also received a multifaith blessing from six religious and spiritual leaders.

In his speech, Kim, who served as interim president beginning in July 2025 before being permanently appointed in February, acknowledged the challenges facing higher education. 

“Public trust in universities has declined. Families are asking whether a degree is worth its cost. Citizens question whether campuses truly welcome disagreement,” Kim said. “Artificial intelligence is forcing us to ask what a university is for when knowledge is abundant and what work will remain when our students graduate.”

In the speech, Kim laid out a vision to redesign USC’s undergraduate general education program, expand experiential learning and strengthen connections between academic disciplines to prepare Trojans for a changing workforce.

“Our strategic planning will identify where USC can lead, connect strengths that have too often remained separate and align our schools, health system, alumni, partners, and friends around our ambitions,” Kim said. “With that alignment, and the support of the Trojan Family, we can turn the speed of change around us to our advantage and swing big, just as we have in the past.”

For Tallulah Berckley, a freshman majoring in musical theater, that vision reflected opportunities she hopes to see within her own academic programs.

“I am so excited about this new president’s journey here,” Berckley said. “I would love to see more collaborations between majors because so many students are so eager about working with each other, and going between different majors is such a helpful way to learn about different skills and to pick up different things.” 

For Ronan Hallowell, a clinical associate professor of medical education, the direction of the University’s future remains a top concern.

“There’s just a long way to go in shoring up some of the financial and operational components of things that we’re honestly still recovering from some different challenges over the past 10 years or so,” Hallowell said. “It can get a little bit tiresome that they’re still affecting us, … but I hope that [Kim] will be able to deliver at least a good portion of what he says he’s going to do.” 

Besides the discussion of institutional challenges, alumni also took the investiture ceremony as an opportunity to reflect on the sense of community felt at USC. William Pino, an alum who graduated from the Marshall School of Business in 1986, said Kim’s cello performance represented his approachable leadership style.

“It showed him being like, ‘Okay, I’m not just here as the president up here, but here I am down with the students. I’m listening to them,’” Pino said. 

The celebrations continued into Friday afternoon at McCarthy Quad, where members of the Trojan community gathered for live music, student performances and food. 

Looking toward USC’s 150th anniversary in 2030, Kim urged the Trojan community to build on its legacy of innovation.

“For nearly 150 years, Trojans have moved the horizon of what is possible,” Kim said. “As we look ahead to the next 150 years of the University of Southern California, it is our turn to move the horizon again. Fight on.”