Former UNC chancellor Carol Folt is heading to the west coast and back to private higher education in her new role. The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday afternoon that the University of Southern California was set to name Folt as the university’s next president.
Folt left UNC at the end of January after the UNC System Board of Governors accelerated her resignation date following Folt’s decision to remove the remaining base of the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam from the Chapel Hill campus.
Folt was faced with multiple scandals during her time leading UNC. The paper class scandal was well underway when Folt was brought on, and the university dealt with other issues before Silent Sam dominated the final few months of Folt’s tenure.
USC is dealing with scandals of its own right now. The university was targeted in a recent federal investigation into college admission malpractices. The last USC president was forced out after issues propelled the university into the national spotlight in a negative way, including allegations that a campus doctor sexually assaulted hundreds of patients.
Folt spent a portion of her academic career in California earning degrees from two public research universities in the California University System – UC – Santa Barbara and UC – Davis. Folt arrived in Chapel Hill after serving in various roles at Dartmouth.
USC said in a release announcing the hire of Folt that she would be taking over the role on July 1. She will be the first woman to lead USC.
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