USC announced that Marshall School of Business Dean Geoffrey Garrett will step down in August, transitioning to a newly created role as Special Advisor to the President for Global Strategy and Engagement. The timing follows turbulent faculty criticism tied to enrollment trends, MBA performance concerns, governance, and administrative decision-making. The decision arrives weeks before faculty were scheduled to hold a July 1 no-confidence vote. Faculty complaints made public in April included worries about program cuts, doctoral program impacts, slipping competitive standing, and concentrated administrative control. Students also raised concerns around shrinking class sizes, morale, and perceived disconnect between student needs and administrative priorities. For higher education governance watchers, the move is a rare example of a dean transition occurring immediately ahead of a formal faculty confidence process, reshaping internal power dynamics and board-level oversight conversations.