Visionary leadership celebrated at USC Women’s Conference

USC President Carol Folt told more than 800 attendees of the USC Women’s Conference on Friday that “being in the moment and being yourself” have been invaluable characteristics during her 24 years in university leadership.

“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” Folt told the crowd gathered inside Bovard Auditorium on the USC University Park Campus. “I don’t try to look like anybody else, and I don’t try to sound like anybody else.”

The USC Alumni Association organized the 18th annual conference as a day of programs and activities designed to inspire and empower alumni and other attendees to create positive change in their personal lives, their communities and in the world.

In addition to the main programming inside Bovard Auditorium on health, artificial intelligence and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the conference featured breakout sessions at numerous venues around campus on such topics as impostor syndrome, financial empowerment, self-care, building connections and navigating the field of technology.

During the opening conversation titled “Celebrating Visionary Leadership” with USC Associate Senior Vice President for Alumni Relations Erika Jordan, Folt said that her thoughts on maintaining authenticity as a leader have come full circle as she prepares to step down as president of USC on July 1 after six years. She was previously chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and interim president of Dartmouth College.

“When you start, you are just yourself, and you’re trying to suddenly be the person who has to make decisions,” she said. “But that feeling that you’re you is so important. That has absolutely returned to me.”

Keys to effective leadership

Folt pointed to valuing constructive criticism, viewing challenges as opportunities, and knowing the importance of optimism and team support as keys to effective leadership. She also discussed the challenge of balancing tradition with innovation and the importance of collaboration.

Folt — the first woman to permanently serve as president of USC — said she has come to realize that it’s OK to think about the impact of her work and about her legacy despite “women of my generation” being conditioned not to. She noted how earlier in the week in a pair of State of the University speeches, she had the opportunity to highlight her leadership in guiding USC through such hurdles as tuition changes, name changes, raising billions of dollars, and launching the “moonshot” initiatives USC Competes, Reimagining Athletics, Health Sciences 3.0, Sustainability, Frontiers of Computing and the burgeoning USC Arts Now initiative.

“Something we all learn is that it is OK to feel proud about what you’ve done,” she said. “I’m so proud to have my name on a few of the big things that we’ve created here, because it feels wonderful to see them in their concrete form.”

Jordan closed the conversation by paying tribute to Folt, who she said has performed her job “with such compassion, enthusiasm and joy.” She then presented Folt with a bouquet of flowers and said: “I just want to thank you for your leadership, and I’m going to give you your flowers while you’re here.”

Olympic-sized opportunities

After Folt’s conversation with Jordan, a women’s health panel led by Dean Carolyn Meltzer of the Keck School of Medicine of USC brought together leading experts in medicine and wellness to explore the unique health challenges women face across different life stages. Later, there were panel discussions on “Women Leading the Charge on Leveraging AI for Pandemic Prevention” and “Leadership and Legacy at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics.”

Folt discussed the upcoming Olympics with fellow panelists Janet Evans, a USC alumna who is chief athlete officer for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the first American woman to win four individual Olympic gold medals in swimming, and USC Board of Trustees member Jaime L. Lee, who is on the board of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Moderator Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, remarked that as L.A. prepares to host the Olympics for the third time, “there is no institution more intertwined with the Olympic Games than USC, with its extraordinary facilities, world-class athletes and well-positioned alumni network.”

Folt, who described the Olympics as a “global unifier,” agreed with Bay and said that the international competition is “an amazing learning experience for people in education.”

“It gives us a chance to really look at that incredible connection between individual accomplishment, global reach, community and education,” she said. “We have a really strong opportunity to talk about the true meaning of individual perseverance and grit.”

Folt pointed out that without American universities and the investment they have traditionally made in college athletics, the United States would not have the Olympic presence that it has.USC has been a leader in this area, producing more Olympians and overall medalists than any other university in the country.

Folt said universities with big athletic programs “know better than anyone else the fullness of the benefits that all those athletes bring to the institution.”

“They come here, they succeed in every area,” she said, noting that athletes typically have high graduation rates and grade point averages. “They go off and do amazing things in the world.”