University Professor and Provost Emeritus. He served as USC Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs during the period 1993 until 2005, a time when the university increased greatly in quality and reputation. He led the planning which led to the 1994 Strategic Plan of the University, and the 1998 Four Year Update. Much of the improvement in the university can be attributed to the strategies and approaches articulated in those two documents.

Before coming to USC, Armstrong was a Professor of Physics at the Johns Hopkins University. While at Hopkins, he served as Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Armstrong’s current research interests are focused on the future of research universities, with special emphasis on the effects of globalization.