Beong-Soo Kim, a cello player from the age of five who has served as USC senior vice president and general counsel since 2020, is the first Asian American to be president of the university.
In a statement to faculty and staff, Kim said he enters this new role during a moment “of unprecedented uncertainty and change,” citing research, global engagements, artificial intelligence and athletics.
“While change can be unsettling, it also creates opportunities to sharpen our focus, challenge assumptions, and recommit to what matters most: the impact we have on our students, patients, and society,” Kim wrote.
Since 2020, he has overseen USC’s legal challenges, including paying $1.1 billion to patients who were allegedly sexually abused by Dr. George Tyndall, a USC gynecologist. He died in October 2023 as he was awaiting trial.
As he takes office, Kim will have to navigate a budget deficit of $158 million, union negotiations and threats from President Donald Trump’s administration over funding.
Although Kim never attended USC, he told USC Today that his mother attended the university for a masters in education and his father for a PhD in economics.
Kim, who began playing the cello at five years old, learned from USC Thornton professors Eleonore Schoenfeld and Alice Schoenfeld.
“I would come to the USC University Park Campus to perform or to hear concerts,” he said.
In 2007, Kim was an adjunct professor at the USC Gould School of Law.
Kim attended Harvard University for his undergraduate studies before receiving a masters at the London School of Economics. He received a Juris Doctorate from Harvard University in 1999.
Kim will serve as president until the Board of Trustees selects a new president. The timeline for that appointment remains unclear.