USC’s Marshall School of Business moved to end a leadership dispute before a planned faculty no-confidence vote, announcing Dean Geoffrey Garrett will step down in August. The decision comes weeks after Marshall faculty criticized Garrett’s second-term performance and after a letter from 52 faculty members argued the school was on a “downward trajectory.” Faculty concerns highlighted enrollment trends, MBA program performance, proposed doctoral cuts, shifting governance decision-making toward administrators, and slipping competitive standing. Students also raised grievances including smaller class sizes, morale concerns, and perceived misalignment between administrative priorities and student needs. USC said Garrett would leave the deanship and assume a newly created role as Special Advisor to the President for Global Strategy and Engagement. The company’s timing matters because faculty were scheduled to vote on July 1 on whether to withdraw confidence in his leadership. The move repositions Marshall leadership as it navigates business-school competition, MBA return-on-investment scrutiny, and budget pressure—while signaling that governance outcomes can still drive major executive changes even when they are unusual for business schools.