Carol Folt, who served as the 11th Chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill and is currently the 12th president at the University of Southern California, will retire at the end of this academic school year in July 2025.
Folt announced the end to her career leading major universities on Friday, and wrote she will consider a role as a tenured faculty member. According to the LA Times, Folt will remain at USC.
"After more than twenty 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," she wrote.
Folt led UNC-Chapel Hill from 2012-2019 during the investigation and legal phases of the academic-athletic scandal. She resigned in January, and took the presidency at USC in July of 2019, taking over another university in the aftermath of an academic scandal.
Folt could not escape scandal herself: She resigned from Chapel Hill while simultaneously ordering the removal of the base of the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam after the statue itself was torn down by protestors in Aug. 2018.
And, in 2024, Folt's USC administration came under fire for how it responded to pro-Palestinian protests on campus, and for rescinding the invitation for USC valedictorian Asna Tabassum to speak at commencement because of pro-Palestinian statements. Eventually, the University canceled the main graduation ceremony.
Folt's critics cite tactics and riot gear used by police against USC students in pro-Palestinian protests, and similar gear used by police during Confederate monument protests.
