LOS ANGELES — The president of the University of Southern California, C.L. Max Nikias, has agreed to step down in the midst of a scandal over a gynecologist accused of abusing students at the campus health center.

Rick J. Caruso, a member of the university board of trustees, said Friday that the board had “agreed to begin an orderly transition and commence the process of selecting a new president.’’

“We have heard the message that something is broken and that urgent and profound actions are needed,’’ Caruso said.

“We will rebuild our culture to reflect an environment in which safety and transparency are of paramount importance, and to institute systemic change that will prevent this from occurring in the future,’’ he said.

The decision followed a call from students, faculty, and alumni for the resignation of Nikias, which gained momentum last week when 200 high-ranking professors signed a letter to the university’s board of trustees.

The letter said Nikias no longer had the “moral authority to lead’’ and had failed to protect students and staff from “repeated and pervasive sexual harassment and misconduct.’’

By Friday, the letter had nearly 500 signatures. The academic senate had also called on Nikias to resign, saying “new leadership is in the best interest of the university now and going forward.’’

There was no time frame given for Nikias’s departure and it was unclear whether an interim president would be appointed.

After an internal investigation in 2016 found that the gynecologist, Dr. George Tyndall, had conducted pelvic exams inappropriately and made sexually offensive remarks to patients, university officials chose to settle the matter quietly and did not report it to the state medical board.

Nikias, 65, became president in 2010 and presided over the university at a time of tremendous growth, attracting international students and top-tier faculty while completing a $6 billion fund-raising effort and opening dozens of new buildings.

But he had increasingly come under fire in the past year for his handling of several scandals at the private university.

Last summer, The Los Angeles Times reported that the former dean of the medical school — a celebrated physician and prodigious fund-raiser — had used drugs on campus and partied with prostitutes.

Then, last fall, the man who had replaced him was forced to step down after the university admitted it had settled a sexual harassment case with one of his former researchers.

Ariela Gross, a law professor who spearheaded the faculty petition, said she was “thrilled’’ with the announcement and was hopeful it would bring “meaningful change.’’

“We’re at a real crossroads for the university and this is the first step in starting over,’’ she said. “Our voices were heard and respected and that is tremendous.

The next step is how are we going to choose new leadership? Rather than send it out to a corporate search firm, are we going to respect strong academic values? We need to have a serious national search for someone who will take us to the next stage.’’

Nikias had promised a full investigation of the scandal involving the medical school dean by an independent law firm last year, but faculty and staff members grew impatient when the results were not publicly released.

Many said the handling of the allegations against Tyndall was the final straw.

Critics were especially angered by the university’s failure to report the internal investigation to state authorities, former patients, or the public, saying it amounted to protecting the image of the school at the expense of putting students in danger.

Along with the uproar from faculty members, the university is facing a mounting pile of lawsuits from women who say Tyndall sexually abused and harassed them during medical exams and that the university failed to protect them.

More lawsuits were filed Friday and lawyers expect many more women to join.