American Trojan – C L Max Nikias

The good news brought back all of the memories of our long journey together. We were both slightly exhausted from the previous sleepless night and now, more than excitement, we both felt gratitude and relief. But very quickly, we also felt the weight of the responsibility that would come with our new reality. We were going to be the next President and First Lady of USC. The next Tuesday, the Board of Trustees held a telephonic meeting to vote on my election. Ed Roski had asked me to be on standby.

If the board voted in my favor, then I would be called to join the meeting. I waited patiently and finally the phone rang. To my surprise, trustees from around the world were on the call. I’d prepared a brief opening statement in which I thanked them and told them how humbled I was by this extraordinary opportunity.

At some point, I think it was trustee Lorna Reed who said, “We want to hear from Niki. Put her on the phone!” Niki spoke spontaneously and it was just a great celebration. It was wonderful that they were not only welcoming me as the new President, but embracing Niki as First Lady.

After the call, Niki and I shared a glass of champagne with our daughters. “Never forget why America is great,” I said. “The American dream that built this nation is still alive.” Although we were excited about our new opportunities, there wasn’t a lot of time to celebrate. The announcement of my promotion came in March, but Niki and I wouldn’t officially assume our new roles until August 3.

The chairman formed a committee of faculty, students, and staff to plan for the inauguration ceremony, which was scheduled for October 15. While it seems like we had some time to prepare all of these events, it’s difficult to understand how much time and effort goes into a presidential transition. In addition to assuming a new role as First Lady and getting involved with numerous details for the upcoming inauguration, Niki soon found herself managing the massive operation of planning the move to the USC President’s house.

“In this gripping memoir, American Trojan, former USC President Max Nikias charts his remarkable odyssey from a small village in Cyprus to the presidency of the University of Southern California, when the campus rose to be ranked among the nation’s top universities. He has lived through the British occupation of Cyprus, the Turkish invasion of the island, the various Greek coups of the 1970s, his own near penniless arrival in America, a meteoric rise as a newly hired engineering professor to the president of the university—all culminating in a fascinating final dissection of the woke hysterias of recent years that have done so much damage to higher education, and to those few who sought so bravely to resist the madness.”

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON The Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Author, The Dying Citizen “A tremendous read! An inspiring account of how a brilliant young engineer from Cyprus came to embody the American dream. Max Nikias’s journey from immigrant scholar to president of the University of Southern California is a testament to his extraordinary vision, unshakable character, and exceptional leadership. American Trojan captures his infectious enthusiasm, his transformative impact on higher education, and his enduring devotion to the Trojan Family. A remarkable life, told with clarity, conviction, and heart.”

GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS US Army (Ret.); former Commander of the Surge in Iraq, US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan; former Director of the CIA; co-author of the New York Times bestseller Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza. “Max Nikias is a fantastic leader and a great friend. His story is the embodiment of the American Dream. He came from Cyprus with nothing but a brilliant mind and a strong work ethic, and used both to build a life of purpose, vision, and results.

At USC, he didn’t just lead, he transformed the place. The rankings, the endowment, the reputation of the entire university skyrocketed under his watch. In American Trojan, Max shows what real leadership looks like. These are lessons anyone can use if they want to be useful and make a difference.” ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER 38th Governor of California “This memoir is the story of the American dream. Max Nikias arrived here with nothing but smarts and charm from his old world, home country, which was in the midst of a terrible war.

Here, he raised a beautiful family, contributed to our national security through his scientific research, and achieved the pinnacle of academic success as president of USC. Max’s story is an inspiring read.” ROBERT C.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: c612a40bb8f0c9ce
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 4,270,148 bytes (4.072 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781641774932
• Pages: 512
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 687.1 minutes
• Total Words: 137,419
• Total Characters: 837,269
• Average Words per Page: 268.4
• Average Characters per Page: 1635.29

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