USC president announces retirement at end of academic year
University of Southern California president, Dr. Carol Folt, announced Friday that she will retire on July 1, 2025, at the end of the academic year.
Folt took over the university five years ago to bring stability following a sweeping admissions scandal but came under fire last year during pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Folt called serving as the 12th president of the University "one of the greatest privileges of my life."
"After more than 20 years of leadership at three great universities, however, I am excited to embrace the freedom that comes with a next big leap, and to pass the baton to the next president who will be able to build upon our accomplishments and create a new chapter for this extraordinary institution," Folt said in a statement.
"While Carol's retirement marks a moment of transition for USC, thanks to her leadership the university is well positioned for the future," said Suzanne Nora Johnson, Chair of the USC Board of Trustees. "We are fortunate that she will continue to be a part of the Trojan Family as a tenured faculty member."
Her leadership experience spans 20 years, at three universities. Before USC, Folt served as chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill and held several leadership appointments at Dartmouth College, including interim president, provost, dean of faculty, and Dartmouth Professor of Biological Sciences.
Folt took the helm at the university in 2019. She is an internationally recognized life scientist with faculty appointments in biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, and population and public health sciences, according to her biography with the USC Office of the President.
She started her tenure when the university was reeling from a nationwide college-admissions cheating scandal that enveloped parents, athletic officials and coaches at various other schools.
The university had also been rocked by the criminal case involving longtime campus gynecologist George Tyndall, who was accused of sexual misconduct by hundreds of students. Many sued the university, contending campus leaders took no action in response to complaints about his actions. USC agreed to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle class-action lawsuits
against the university.
Folt pointed to a series of accomplishments during her time as USA president, including "the $1 billion investment in Frontiers of Computing and USC's new School of Advanced Computing, Health Sciences 3.0, Athletics Reimagined, Sustainable Urban Futures, and USC Competes," along with upgrades to athletic facilities, the move of athletic programs out of the Pac-12 and into the Big Ten, and the opening of the university's Capital Campus in Washington, D.C.
Over the past year, however, Folt -- like many university leaders nationwide -- came under fire from some critics over the response to pro-Palestinian protests and encampments. Earlier this year, an encampment at Alumni Park on the USC campus last year was dismantled in a law enforcement operation that saw 93 arrests.
Continued unrest led to the cancelation of the school's traditional main stage ceremony, which was replaced with a celebratory event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The university also canceled pro-Palestinian valedictorian Asna Tabassum from speaking at commencement activities over security concerns.
Johnson said Folt will remain president with the support of her dedicated leadership and academic team for the remainder of the 2024/2025 academic year.
