USC President Carol Folt has been offered a five-year contract extension as she calms down the scandal-plagued university and promotes It has promoted sports and expanded student access, but has also been heavily criticized for its handling of pro-Palestinian protests this spring.
USC would not disclose the terms of the contract extension, including its length or any modifications made. It’s unclear if the extension is short-term and the board is conducting a thorough review of whether to offer Folt a long-term deal.
“President Forte’s contract remains in full force and effect,” the university said in a statement Tuesday. “Like all University officials, the President is subject to annual review and reappointment each year, which occurred last spring. The Board of Trustees remains pleased with the strong direction of the University under President Folt’s leadership.
Rick Caruso, then chairman of the USC Board of Trustees, said Folt, 72, took office on July 1, 2019 and signed an agreement with former president Max Nikias. Nikias ) contract to the same extent. He said at the time that he expected Folt to serve for at least ten years.
Folt’s top priority when hired was to restore trust in a university that has been rocked by one scandal after another. She replaced key administrators, reached a $1 billion settlement with an alumna who was sexually abused by a gynecologist, and authorized the removal of an anti-Semitic, pro-eugenics former USC president from an iconic campus building name.
Folt, the first female to lead USC since its founding in 1880, is also committed to providing access to more low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students of color. In one of her most heralded moves, Folt directed USC to eliminate tuition for families making $80,000 a year or less and no longer consider home equity in financial aid calculations. For students living away from their families, the annual cost of attendance in 2024-25 is estimated at $95,225.
She gained national attention for her major move to reshape USC’s athletic program. These include hiring nationally renowned football head coach Lincoln Riley to a $10 million-a-year contract (one of the highest salaries in the sport), investing heavily in new and improved athletic facilities, and changing the landscape ‘s move to the Big Ten ultimately led to the demise of the Pac-12 conference.
But those actions were overshadowed this spring by huge controversy over her handling of pro-Palestinian protests.
In particular, her decision to cancel pro-Palestinian valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s opportunity to speak at USC’s main commencement ceremony sparked widespread outrage. Folt justified the decision, citing unspecified security threats.
The unrest escalated when Folt canceled the “main stage” commencement ceremony, depriving students and their families of a valuable ceremony. Folt and her team called on police to dismantle a tent camp set up by students in support of the Palestinians, resulting in 93 arrests.
She has not spoken publicly in two weeks, drawing criticism that she has not taken action on the most explosive issue of her tenure.
These actions cost Folt the support of key faculty members. In May, USC’s Academic Senate voted to censure her and Provost Andrew Guzman for their handling of events around commencement. Of the 44 members of the Senate, representing approximately 4,500 faculty members, 21 supported the censure motion, seven opposed and six abstained.
William Tierney, professor emeritus at the USC Rossier School of Education and an expert on university administration and governance, said Folt’s handling of the protests was a “complete failure” and said the university needs someone who can handle the situation without her. New leadership to address such issues.
While he praised Folt for her presidential leadership during a series of scandal-ridden “troublesome moments,” he was unhappy with her focus on sports supporterism. He also criticized what he saw as a lack of fundraising prowess from previous presidents, who provided financial largesse for ambitious academic and research ventures — including poaching two star brain researchers from UCLA .
Tierney said USC should re-prioritize seeking top donors — just as Johns Hopkins received $1 billion from Bloomberg Philanthropies to provide a free medical education to most students — while Not a top rugby coach.
“We’re not a football university,” he said. “We have teachers who are eager to change the world. I don’t think the president is going to provide intellectual or financial leadership in this way.
“When I look at where USC is going to be over the next five years,” he said, “I don’t think it’s Carroll Folt.”
Chemistry professor Anna Krylov said she was “neutral” on whether Folt should get a long-term extension. She said she applauded Folt for dismantling pro-Palestinian encampments, which she said fueled rabid anti-Semitism. But she said Folt and campus leadership have not done enough to combat anti-Semitism, which has become “serious and pervasive” in recent years.
Krylov also said Folt focused too much energy on “the wrong issues,” including what she called performative efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Like Tierney, Krylov said USC leadership needs to pay more attention to its core mission of education and research.
Folt’s supporters, however, point to the president’s creation of a new advanced computing school and beefed-up mental health services. She also presided over a record number of applicants — 82,000 for fall 2024 — that dropped the acceptance rate to a record low of 9.3%. Admitted students, one-fifth of whom are the first in their families to attend college, have an average GPA of 3.89.
Within his first six months as president in 2019, Folt set out to reshape USC’s athletic department. She replaced Trojan football hero Lynn Swann, who resigned as athletic director that September, with Mike Bohn, who was the first in twenty-five years. An outsider taking charge of USC athletics.
But last May, Bohn abruptly resigned after The Times raised questions with Bohn and USC about his conduct as athletic director and department administrator. Folt hired Jennifer Cohen, the first female athletic director in university history, to replace him.
Earlier this year, USC began construction on a state-of-the-art football performance center, just one of several capital facility projects currently under construction.
