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Hundreds of USC professors are demanding the university's president resign amid a mounting sexual-misconduct scandal involving a school gynecologist

University of Southern California student Daniella Mohazab, center, speaks at a news conference at the office of her attorney, Gloria Allred, left, Tuesday May 22, 2018, in Los Angeles. Mohazab, a USC student seeking a master's degree in communications management, is suing USC and an ex-campus gynecologist who she accuses of sexual battery.
University of Southern California student Daniella Mohazab, center, speaks at a news conference at the office of her attorney, Gloria Allred, left, Tuesday May 22, 2018, in Los Angeles. Mohazab, a USC student seeking a master's degree in communications management, is suing USC and an ex-campus gynecologist who she accuses of sexual battery.

AP Photo/Christopher Weber

  • Two hundred professors at the University of Southern California are calling for the resignation of the university's president, C.L. Max Nikias.

  • Several women have accused a former gynecologist at the university of abuse.

  • USC conducted an investigation in 2017 and found that the gynecologist's exams were outside of the scope of medical practice, according to the Los Angeles Times.

  • USC offered him a deal to resign and accept a financial payout, but it did not report him to the state medical board, the Times reported. 


Two hundred professors at the University of Southern California on Tuesday demanded the resignation of the school's president, C.L. Max Nikias, amid a mounting sexual-misconduct scandal, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A day before, six women filed civil lawsuits alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the student health clinic, Dr. George Tyndall, sexually abused them during medical examinations and that he remained employed at the school for decades even though USC was alerted about the allegations.

In one suit, a woman accuses Tyndall of forcing an ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment and making "vulgar" comments about her genitalia, according to the Times. Another woman said Tyndall groped her breasts during an appointment.

The Times report says Tyndall has described his medical exams as appropriate and in line with medical standards and denied making inappropriate comments to patients. He said in an interview with the newspaper that he "never had any sexual urges" toward patients.

The Times reported that a 2017 internal university investigation determined that "Tyndall's pelvic exams were outside the scope of current medical practice and amounted to sexual harassment of students."

After the investigation, the university offered Tyndall what the Times called a "secret deal" to resign with a financial payout and didn't report him to the state medical board. Nikias and other school administrators have said their actions were a mistake.

The 200 professors at USC rebuked the school's handling of complaints regarding Tyndall.

We "write to express our outrage and disappointment over the mounting evidence of President Nikias' failure to protect our students, our staff, and our colleagues from repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct," the professors said in a letter to the school's Board of Trustees.

Tyndall was the sole full-time gynecologist at USC's student health clinic from 1989 to 2016. During that time, he faced complaints about misconduct but remained there until a nurse reported him to a rape crisis center in 2016, according to the Times.

About 300 people have come forward to USC regarding the accusations against Tyndall, according to the Times. The Los Angeles Police Department has opened a criminal investigation into the allegations.

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