President, USC

Folt became USC’s 12th president and first woman leader in 2019. She oversees the county’s largest private university, with 49,000 graduate and undergraduate students, more than 4,600 full-time faculty and an annual budget of more than $6 billion. When she took over, the university was reeling from multiple scandals, most notably the college admissions bribery case and alleged sexual assaults. Folt has since pursued new initiatives, including hiring the university’s first sustainability officer. Prior to assuming the top USC post, Folt served four years as chancellor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 5