USC names neuroscientist Michael Quick as provost

USC stayed in-house for the selection of a new provost, choosing executive vice provost and neuroscientist Michael Quick as second-in-command of the university.

USC President C.L. Max Nikias on Sunday announced the selection of Quick after what was described as a national search to fill the position of chief academic officer of the campus. The previous provost, Elizabeth Garrett, was named Cornell University’s president last fall.

After serving as head of USC’s neuroscience graduate program, Quick has held a series of high-ranking administrative jobs, including executive vice provost and vice president for academic affairs. He has been acting provost for several months while the search reportedly looked at a wide array of other candidates but came to focus on him, officials said.

In a statement, Nikias said that the appointment of Quick as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs was “the most significant” in his cabinet and said that Quick was chosen because “he possesses the rare combination of abilities, experiences and knowledge that will best serve our large, complex and very ambitious research university.”

Quick, 53, earned a doctorate in neuroscience from Emory University and did post-doctoral research at Caltech. He previously taught at the University of Alabama at Birmingham before coming to USC in 2002.

USC did not disclose his salary.

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