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Former UNC Chancellor Carol Folt Will Be USC President

Former University of North Carolina Chancellor Carol Folt. File photo. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)

The UNC chancellor who recently left the school after championing the removal of a Confederate monument on campus has a new job.

The University of Southern California has selected Carol Folt to lead the school. Folt will become the first female president in USC's 139-year history.

According to a news release on USC's website, she will assume leadership of the university from interim President Wanda Austin, who also served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee.

“Dr. Folt is a seasoned leader who has an excellent track record of listening to others,” Austin said. “She clearly understands the value of reaching out across campus, and for standing strong for the character and principles of a university's community. Her experience gives me great confidence that she will uphold a culture of integrity at USC.”

Folt became chancellor at UNC Chapel Hill in 2013 and led the school through high-profile controversies, including an athletic scandal and the removal of a Confederate monument known as “Silent Sam' on campus.

Her appointment at USC will also bring some challenges. The university is one of several schools implicated in a high-profile college admissions scandal.

Folt will take office as USC's new president on July 1.

*Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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