Senior leadership appointments strengthen USC’s academic and communications leadership as the university looks toward its future

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The University of Southern California today announced that David Madigan has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. In addition, Megan Jordan has been named senior vice president and chief communications officer after having served in an interim capacity since January.

Together, the appointments strengthen USC’s leadership at an important time for the university and position it to move forward with greater focus, collaboration, and ambition.

“During this consequential moment for higher education, USC is well positioned to extend our academic excellence, accelerate research and innovation, and prepare our students to lead in a rapidly changing world,” said USC President Beong-Soo Kim. “David and Megan bring the experience and leadership we need to build on USC’s extraordinary strengths, advance our academic mission, and help USC shape the future.”

David Madigan

An accomplished academic leader and internationally respected scholar in the field of statistics, Madigan brings extensive experience leading complex institutions, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing research and education. He will begin his new role on October 13.

Madigan will hold the Shelly and Ofer Nemirovsky Provost’s Chair and will serve on the faculty as professor of data sciences and operations at the USC Marshall School of Business, with joint appointments in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the Department of Mathematics at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Madigan joins USC after five years as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Northeastern University, where he oversaw 10 schools and colleges and the university’s research enterprise. He helped recruit more than 350 faculty members, expand Northeastern’s global reach, and accelerate interdisciplinary research in areas including cognitive health and artificial intelligence. Previously, he spent five years as executive vice president and dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, overseeing five schools, 27 departments, and more than 50 research centers and institutes. Internationally recognized for his interdisciplinary work spanning Bayesian statistics and drug safety, Madigan previously chaired the Department of Statistics at Columbia and served as dean of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at Rutgers University.

“This is a moment of tremendous opportunity for higher education and America’s great research universities. Few institutions combine USC’s stature and breadth with its instinct to look ahead, embrace new ideas and find better ways to serve students and society. I’m excited to work with President Kim and the Trojan community to help lead that effort,” said Madigan.

USC’s Provost Search Committee unanimously recommended Madigan’s appointment following a global search that attracted an exceptional group of candidates. He succeeds Andrew Guzman, who will return to the faculty at the USC Gould School of Law.

Megan Jordan

Jordan has served as USC’s interim senior vice president and chief communications officer since January, bringing renewed strategic focus and alignment to how USC communicates within and beyond the university.

Jordan has brought together communications leaders from across USC to build a more unified, collaborative approach to telling the university’s story—one that reflects the collective strength of its 23 schools and health system and advances a key institutional priority: elevating USC’s academic excellence and impact.

“USC changed my life when I came here as a student decades ago, and I am honored to shape how the world perceives this extraordinary university and the transformative impact it has on its students and society,” said Jordan. “Under President Kim’s visionary leadership, I look forward to amplifying the incredible work of our world-class faculty and groundbreaking research, advancing USC’s mission and future trajectory.”

A USC alumna, Jordan earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, where she teaches as an adjunct professor and has served on its Center for Public Relations Board of Advisors since 2018. Before stepping into the interim role, she was USC’s vice president of executive communications and strategic initiatives. Her previous leadership experience includes roles at Claremont McKenna College, Southern California Edison, Herbalife, and Kaiser Permanente, as well as global communications agencies.

About USC

Founded in 1880, the University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading academic research institutions with 23 schools, a multi-billion-dollar health enterprise, and a vast research and development engine. The university enrolls 46,000 highly accomplished undergraduate and graduate students and employs 4,600 faculty who are members of major national academies, and MacArthur, Academy Award, and Pulitzer Prize winners, among many others. USC has a nationally recognized athletic program and a passionate global network of 500,000 alumni – the Trojan Family. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, USC is a powerhouse of innovation and impact with a global reach.

Media: uscnews@pressroom.usc.edu 

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SOURCE University of Southern California