USC President Carol Folt to retire at end of current academic year

USC President Carol Folt announced Friday that she will retire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. Folt, 73, will leave her role after six years at the helm.

“It is with heartfelt gratitude that I write to share my decision to retire as the president of USC at the end of the academic year on July 1, 2025,” Folt wrote in a statement. “Serving as the twelfth president of the University of Southern California is one of the greatest privileges of my life. Working with so many of you to achieve the promise of our incredible Trojan Family brings me joy and inspiration each day.

“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.”

Folt will continue to work at USC but as a tenured faculty member, according to the Los Angeles Times. She became the first woman to lead USC in the university’s history, and she replaced former USC President Max Nikias at an important time.

Not only did Folt have to navigate the pandemic, but, from the moment she took over, she had to help gain back university trust from community members and alumni affected by a string of scandals during Nikias’ tenure.

Notably, Folt made administrative personnel changes and brokered a more than $1 billion settlement with alumnae in the wake of a sexual abuse scandal involving a gynecologist at the USC student health clinic.

She also made the decision to eliminate tuition for students with families earning $80,000 or less annually, striving for a more accessible and diverse university.

As for USC Athletics, Folt made headlines in 2021 when she hired head football coach Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma, where he had led the Sooners to a trio of College Football Playoff appearances. Riley was signed to a $10 million contract that’s now under the microscope while the Trojans are on track to miss the CFP for the third year in a row.

Folt helped USC make the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten. She hired Jennifer Cohen, the first-ever female athletic director in school history, last summer.

And, most recently, she announced a $50 million gift for the Bloom Football Performance Center, a 160,000-square-foot complex that will include full-length football practice fields, a locker room, a recovery space, nutrition and training areas as well as team auditorium and meeting rooms.