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

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- USC President Carol Folt announced she will be stepping down from her position at the end of the academic year.

Folt, who served as the twelfth president of the university, said in a statement Friday that she will retire on July 1, 2025. She did not provide a reason for her decision.

"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," her statement read.

Earlier this year, USC extended Folt's contract but did not specify the length of the new contract.

During her time at the university, Folt touted initiatives like more cultural spaces, investments in new schools, financial aid, and athletics.

"I think she's done a lot of good, especially, you know, in this move into, you know, with the Big 10 stuff. I don't know if that's all her, but you know, even that stuff has been, I think, beneficial," said Kyle McNamara, a senior at USC.

Under her leadership in 2020, USC announced the expansion of financial aid, including making tuition free for some low-income students.

Sophie Le, another student at USC, added that "coming from, like, a low income family, and everything she's done for like, the low income students and financial aid is something like I've really appreciated, brought off that burden of like, financial barrier of going to school."

The announcement comes after some deep criticism over Folt's handling of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus during the spring semester, including deploying law enforcement to the campus and her decision to cancel valedictorian Asna Tabassum's commencement speech citing safety concerns.

Christian Cuevas, a film student at USC, said he would like to see greater support for students of different racial and economic backgrounds under the next administration.

"I would appreciate, like, being actually respected as, you know, as a black person, a person of color. I would appreciate more than just the lip service that I think that this institution pays to the idea of respecting people of color," said Cuevas. "I would appreciate, like, real action taken, as opposed to posts on websites and meaningless, you know, banners around campus."

The announcement also comes amid reporting from the Los Angeles Times that the university "for years admitted children of donors, potential donors and other prominent people through a role intended for top-tier sports recruits." The newspaper reported Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana sent students, children of donors and potential donors, through the athletic department that never played for USC.