OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Carol L. Folt Ph.D.
President
Robert C. Packard President’s Chair

July 16, 2019
Dear USC Community,
I am delighted and honored to be joining you as president of USC. As I make this transition
in my life and work, I am finding energy and inspiration in two ways. First, returning to
California is like coming home; I love the diversity and energy of the cities, and the beauty of
the landscapes here. Second, I have been immersing myself in the history, achievements, and
aspirations, as well as the challenges, facing this great university. As I have begun working with
you, this has all become very real, and I look forward with pleasure to the weeks and years to
come.
Already many of you have reached out to me with greetings, suggestions, concerns, and dreams
for the future. They have all been remarkably helpful, and I thank you for taking the time to
do so. I want to meet more of the USC community as quickly as possible, and I encourage you
to continue sharing your ideas and opinions. We all are concerned about the difficulties our
university has faced recently. To be successful, we must meet those challenges with candor,
transparency, and inclusion. My team and I will be working with you without delay, to design
and implement needed changes. The trust and confidence of the Trojan Family, and of the wider
community, are treasures. It will be up to us, every day, to earn and sustain them.
I also am looking forward to working with you on a comprehensive and bold vision for the
future of USC that builds on your achievements, past and present. At the core will be our support
for a rigorous, caring, and life-changing experience for our students and patients, and for the
discoveries and innovations of our faculty and staff. We will find ways to open USC’s doors even
wider to diversity and inclusion, to push the boundaries of what can be known and imagined, and
to contribute to problem solving and innovation in one of the most vibrant and complex regions
in the world.
In closing I want to thank Dr. Wanda Austin and Mr. Rick Caruso, chair of the USC Board of
Trustees, for their support and encouragement during my transition. So many people in offices
across the university have been generous, forthcoming, and helpful to me. I look forward to
working with the Board of Trustees and with the entire Trojan community on what will be an
ambitious agenda. And I look forward to sharing with you the joy that comes from working
together toward shared and aspirational goals.
Sincerely,

Carol L. Folt
President
University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California 90089-0012 • Tel: 213 740 2111 • president@usc.edu