Fundraising at USC Tumbles Amid Medical School Scandals

USC, known nationally for its aggressive fundraising operation, saw contributions tumble in the second half of 2017, a period in which scandals roiled its medical school.

An internal accounting reviewed by The Times shows donations to the university were down nearly $100 million between July and December of last year compared with the same period in 2016. The falloff represents a 22 percent decline and was particularly severe at the Keck School of Medicine, where donations dropped 55 percent, or roughly $45 million.

Two weeks after the accounting period's July 1 start, The Times reported that former Keck dean Carmen Puliafito had used methamphetamine and other drugs while running the medical school and treating patients in a campus eye clinic. USC subsequently acknowledged that President C. L. Max Nikias had kept Puliafito, a prolific fundraiser, in the post despite years of complaints from faculty and staff about his behavior.