The University of Southern California's president will step down in July, ending a tenure marred by criticism of the school's tolerance of anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas demonstrations on campus.
Carol Folt, 73, will assume leadership in 2019 and return to the campus as a tenured professor. Los Angeles Times reported.
“After more than 20 years of leadership at three great universities,” Folt wrote in a letter announcing his retirement.
“I am excited to embrace the freedom that comes with the next big leap and pass the baton to the next president who can build on our accomplishments and create a new chapter for this extraordinary institution.”
Folt's tenure at the top had become increasingly in doubt after the school's board offered her a five-year contract extension, but did not disclose the terms or duration of the new contract.
Since the October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas in Israel that left 1,200 civilians dead, the University of Southern California campus has become a hotbed of pro-Hamas organizing and agitation.
In April, police broke up a student occupation and arrested 93 people, and the university's main stage graduation ceremony was forced to be canceled as the campus was filled with Hamas supporters.
Her speech as Muslim valedictorian also had to be canceled due to safety concerns over what she might say after she was accused of promoting “anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric”.
Suzanne Nora Johnson, chair of the University of Southern California Board of Trustees, thanked Folt for his tenure.
“Her dedication to solving the tough problems at hand, past or present, never let her focus on what lies ahead,” she said in a statement.
