Carol L. Folt’s inauguration as president of USC on Friday is less a celebration and more a sigh of relief for a scandal-weary university. First came revelations about a medical-school dean’s drug use and criminal behavior, followed by allegations of sexual assault at the student health center, of pay-to-play shenanigans at the school of social work and of bribery in admissions.

Folt, hired from the University of North Carolina, started July 1 and has been busy cleaning house. The provost and athletic director are gone; a new vice president for student affairs has started; the vice president for research is out the door on Jan. 1; and the football coach is on thin ice.