C. L. Max Nikias, Ph.D. 

Dr. C. L. Max Nikias is currently President Emeritus and Life Trustee of the University of Southern California (USC), a Professor of Electrical Engineering with a secondary appointment in Classics, the holder of the Malcolm R. Currie Chair in Technology and the Humanities, and the Director of the USC Institute for Technology Enabled Higher Education. He has been at USC since 1991, and in addition to his work as a professor, has served as center director, dean of engineering, provost and president of the university. 

During his long tenure at USC, Dr. Nikias introduced and expanded a number of neighborhood outreach programs designed to prepare students from South and East Los Angeles for admission to college. In addition, as president, USC has achieved a far greater share of undergraduates eligible for a Pell Grant than almost any other private, highly selective university. 

Dr. Nikias is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, an associate member of the Academy of Athens, a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a life fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.   

Among numerous other honors, Dr. Nikias has received an Academic Leadership Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, UNICEF’s Spirit of Compassion Award, the State University of New York at Buffalo Distinguished Alumni Award, the USC Black Alumni Association's Thomas Kilgore Service Award, and six honorary doctorates. 

Dr. Nikias received a diploma from the National Technical University of Athens and later earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.