Two sources familiar with the University’s chancellor search have confirmed that Carol Folt, interim president at Dartmouth College, will be named UNC’s first female chancellor Friday.
UNC-system President Thomas Ross will present Folt to the Board of Governors at a 2 p.m. meeting Friday. Folt is expected to be present at the meeting and give remarks to the board.
In response to rumors that the next chancellor might be a woman, Chancellor Holden Thorp said in an interview Thursday afternoon that naming the school’s first female chancellor would be a “great thing.” He added that the candidate is very qualified.
“It’s somebody that I didn’t know very well until the process, but since I’ve gotten to meet that person I’ve been really impressed, and think they have a great reputation around the country,” Thorp said.
UNC will present a significant change for Folt, who currently leads a private, Ivy-League university with 4,200 undergraduates and 1,900 graduate students. Folt joined Dartmouth in 1983 as a faculty member in the department of biological sciences, and has since served as provost and dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, among other positions.
