New UNC Chancellor Accustomed to Challenges (The News & Observer)

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Described by many as an “eternal optimist,” Interim President Carol L. Folt will bring her problem-solving abilities and wide-ranging academic experience to her new job as chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,  writes The News & Observer. Folt, who assumes her new position in Chapel Hill on July 1, will be the institution’s first female chancellor.

“From pollution in fish to climate change, Folt gets a charge from looking at big, complicated issues that aren’t easily solved,” writes the newspaper. “She claims to actually like problems.”

Folt grew up in Akron, Ohio, developing a strong work ethic as well as a Midwestern accent, the newspaper notes. She worked her way through the University of California, Santa Barbara, eventually deciding to major in science. “I was the kind of kid who would look through the course catalog and want to take everything,” she tells the newspaper. “I think that’s actually been good for me.”

The paper describes her path through graduate school and postdoctoral study, then to her faculty position at Dartmouth and her roles as provost and interim president.

“One of the things that Carol embraced during the strategic planning process is that we need to be thinking forward, coming up with new ideas that no one’s thought of before in higher education,” says David Bucci, an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences.

Read the full story, published 4/20/13 by The News & Observer.

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