After six eventful and impactful years, Dr. Carol Folt retired as President of USC at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.

Dr. Folt, the first woman to serve as USC’s permanent president since its 1880 founding, led the university from 2019 to 2025.  During her tenure, she expanded programs in computing, health sciences, athletics, financial aid and student well-being and created a climate of trust, respect, and cultural inclusion. Under her leadership, applications for admission to USC skyrocketed, research proposals and grants reached their highest volume, philanthropic investment reached record levels, and the university’s global and national reputations grew exponentially.

Dr. Folt always put students first. She led USC through unprecedented challenges with a steady hand, and her strategic eye toward the future will leave a legacy on which the next leaders will build.

It has been an honor to work with so many incredible people to launch five transformational presidential “moonshots” and the actions we have taken together to memorialize our university’s mission and values. I believe these initiatives have securely positioned USC for the future.

–Dr. Carol Folt

When Dr. Folt joined USC, she worked to identify what USC’s students would need to succeed for generations to come. This led to the development of a strategic plan with “moonshots” to guide us into the future: Frontiers in Computing, Health Sciences 3.0, Sustainability, Athletics Reimagined, —including joining the Big Ten Conference — USC Competes, and USC Arts Now.

Under her leadership, the university also embarked on a journey to uncover, articulate, and memorialize important values that unite our campus community of students, faculty and staff members. Through this effort, Trojans are forging new pathways for the future of USC and its impact on society.

My north stars always have been: students at the center; academic excellence; safe, welcoming and sustainable campuses; tackling grand challenges; and building ethical, human-centered and empathetic teams. With these principles in mind, we have created a forward-looking vision that will serve our students, faculty and staff well as they look to better the country and the world.

-Dr. Carol Folt

Over six years, Dr. Folt drove USC’s growing reputation both nationally and internationally, broadening its footprint to include the Capital Campus in Washington, D.C., an expanded presence in Silicon Valley, and USC in India, while also creating unique public-private partnerships.  

But at the heart of it all, Dr. Folt understood the secret to USC’s success is the strength of its people and culture — especially its students. During her tenure, she put students at the center of every decision, ensuring they receive the best education, have significant and meaningful opportunities, and enjoy a world-class college experience. This meant embracing our differences, tripling the space in the Student Union for community, dialogue and collaboration, and supporting students with the largest university student mental health team in the U.S.

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