The University of Southern California Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Beong-Soo Kim as the institution's 13th president Wednesday, elevating the interim leader who has served in the role since July 2024.
Kim, who previously served as USC's senior vice president and general counsel, will immediately assume the permanent position following what trustees described as a highly competitive search process.
"The Board's unanimous vote reflects what we learned throughout the search process: widespread confidence in Beong's leadership," said Suzanne Nora Johnson, chair of the USC Board of Trustees. "As a next-generation president, we believe that he can dramatically accelerate USC's institutional advancement as a distinctive leader in higher education during a time of unprecedented change."
During his seven-month tenure as interim president, Kim met with more than 40,000 members of the university community across USC's Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., campuses and at events worldwide. He also launched several initiatives, including the Presidential Open Dialogue Project and an AI Strategy Committee, and co-hosted the university's first AI Summit.
Kim restructured senior leadership by bringing academic deans into the President's Cabinet and establishing a Faculty Advisory Committee reporting directly to him. He also started "Trojan Talks," a podcast featuring university leaders and external experts to communicate USC's priorities and research.
"USC is a very special place, and we are uniquely positioned to advance our mission and impact during this period of change across higher education," Kim said. "Our unwavering commitment to academic excellence, groundbreaking research and global impact positions us to shape the future — not just respond to it."
Kim's career spans multiple sectors, including higher education, health care, legal practice and public service. Before becoming general counsel at USC, he served in senior roles at Kaiser Permanente, worked as a partner in an international law firm and served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.
A Los Angeles native, Kim has personal ties to the university. His mother earned a master's degree in education from USC in 1970, and his father completed PhD coursework in economics there. As a high school student, Kim studied cello under USC Thornton School of Music professors Eleonore and Alice Schoenfeld.
Kim earned his bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor from Harvard University and a master's degree from the London School of Economics.
The appointment comes after USC navigated a turbulent period that included the departure of former President Carol Folt and challenges related to campus protests and administrative controversies.
