USC President Michael D. Amiridis outlines vision during investiture ceremony – USC News & Events
The presidential investiture ceremony is an academic event that is typically held
during a new president’s first year. The formal ceremony signifies the beginning of
a new chapter of leadership for the university, and it provides an opportunity for
the university, guests and the community to witness the formal installation of a new
leader.
Special guests participating in the ceremony included South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster;
Mark Becker, president of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities; Robert
Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and vice president
of the University of Illinois System; and Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, the
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese’s eighth Archbishop of America.
In his speech, Amiridis outlined his vision for the university and highlighted the
role of higher education in finding novel solutions to local and global challenges.
“I aspire for USC to be known nationally and internationally as one of the cradles
of academic innovation of our times,” Amiridis said. “We will demonstrate the ability
and willingness to innovate in all our operations—innovate in the way we teach and
mentor students inside and outside the classroom; innovate in our research and scholarship
efforts; and innovate in the way we finance and conduct our operations.”
Amiridis was named the university’s 30th president in January 2022 and officially
began duties in July. Since beginning at USC, Amiridis has prioritized enhancements
to the student experience, hosting a day-long event last fall where hundreds of students
shared their thoughts on the future of the university. Amiridis also has placed a
renewed emphasis on high-impact research, including in the health sciences, and supporting
innovative academic offerings that position students for future career success.
“I aspire for USC to be known nationally and internationally as one of the cradles
of academic innovation of our times.”
Prior to his tenure as president of USC, Amiridis served as chancellor of the University
of Illinois Chicago (UIC), which he had successfully led since 2015. Prior to his
leadership at UIC, Amiridis spent more than two decades on the University of South
Carolina’s Columbia campus, serving as a professor, dean of the College of Engineering
and Computing, and the university’s executive vice president for academic affairs
and provost before leaving for Chicago.
Amiridis, 60, was born in Greece and was recognized by the Carnegie Corporation of
New York as a Great Immigrant in 2022. He earned his undergraduate degree in chemical
engineering from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki in Greece in 1985 and his
Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1991. He
and his wife, Ero Aggelopoulou-Amiridis (MS, ’97, PhD, ’11), have two children, Aspasia
(BS, ’19) and Dimitri (BS, ‘22).
