USC President Steven B. Sample will officially retire August 2010.
(Photo Courtesy: USC)

USC President Steven B. Sample formally announced his retirement, which will be effective next fall. The L.A. Times reported on Sample's retirement plans over the weekend, but Sample made the formal announcement to students and faculty on Monday.

In a letter sent to the Board of Trustees, Sample said he will officially retire on Aug. 2, 2010.

Sample also spoke on behalf of his wife and thanked his colleagues for the nearly two-decade-long term he served as president of the University of Southern California.

"For Kathryn and me the presidency of USC has been far more than just a job--rather, it has been a calling, an all-consuming passion to move this university ahead farther and faster than any other university in the United States. With the strong support of all of you, and with the strong support of faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, neighbors, parents, and friends, we have done exactly that," Sample wrote in the letter.

Sample's retirement will not be a permanent departure from USC. Sample said he will take a one-year sabbatical and return to teach and do research at the Viterbi School of Engineering. 

Here is more from the Daily Trojan.