Steven B. Sample

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Steven B. Sample (born 1940) is the 10th and current (1991-) President of the University of Southern California.

He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was formerly president of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York from 1982 to 1991. His 2001 book The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership, foreworded and supported by Warren Bennis, details his style of leadership in the context of USC's rise as an institution in his decade as president.

Under Sample's leadership, USC has become world-renowned in the fields of communication and multimedia technologies, received national acclaim for its innovative community partnerships, and solidified its status as one of the nation's leading research universities.

Sample is the author of numerous journal articles and published papers in science and engineering and higher education. His patents in the field of digital appliance controls have been licensed to practically every major manufacturer of appliance controls and microwave ovens in the world. Over 300 million home appliances have been built using his inventions.