August, a specialized strategic communications advisory firm headquartered in Los Angeles, announced today that Chris Patz has joined the firm as a Managing Director based in San Francisco. In this role, he will help lead client engagements with a focus on litigation matters and crisis situations.

In August 2020, Rose Ritch, a Jewish USC student, stepped down from her role as student body Vice President amid an online campaign launched by fellow students calling for her resignation due to her vocal support for the State of Israel and Zionism. In November of that year, a Title VI complaint was submitted on Ms. Rich’s behalf by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights, alleging that the University had enabled a hostile environment of anti-Semitism on campus. In July 2022, the U.S. Department of Education announced it had opened an investigation into this complaint. The investigation is ongoing.