In 2015, USC Provost Michael Quick put Puliafito “on notice for being disengaged from his leadership duties,” the president said. “On March 11, 2016, two USC employees notified Provost Quick that Dr. Puliafito seemed further removed from his duties and expressed concerns about his behavior,” Nikias wrote. “The Provost consulted with me promptly and, as a result, confronted Dr. Puliafito. One member of Puliafito’s circle was a 21-year-old woman who overdosed in his presence at a Pasadena hotel three weeks before he abruptly quit as dean. About three months after Puliafito stepped down, Nikias and other USC leaders hosted a catered reception for the former dean and praised his leadership of the medical school.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 29, 2017 05:48 UTC