President
The Dartmouth Professor of Biological Sciences
B.S. University of California, Santa Barbara
M.S. University of California, Santa Barbara
Ph.D. from University of California, Davis
Carol L. Folt, Ph.D. was named interim president of Dartmouth in May 2012. She is an environmental scientist and holds an endowed faculty position as "The Dartmouth Professor of Biological Sciences" in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences.
Prior to becoming the interim president, Folt served as provost, acting provost, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, associate dean of the faculty for interdisciplinary programs, dean of graduate studies, and associate director of Dartmouth's interdisciplinary Superfund Basic Research Program. She joined the Dartmouth faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences in 1983.
Folt's research focuses on metal toxicity and effects of dietary mercury and arsenic on aquatic life and human health. She and her colleagues have developed new technologies for assessment of mercury environmental exposure and its effects, and formed critical regional, national and international partnerships to advise in the establishment of public policy for safer waters. They also conduct cross-cutting research on chemical signaling, restoration and global conservation of Atlantic salmon, and climate change. Folt continues to serve on federal scientific review panels and foundation boards. She reviews for many journals and has held elected offices in international scientific societies.
A deeply committed educator, Folt received the Dartmouth Huntington Prize for excellence in teaching and research in 1991, and has mentored more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students. She was one of the original faculty involved in Dartmouth's Women in Science Project – a first of its kind program designed to address the under-representation of women in science, mathematics, and engineering. In 2010, she was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) in recognition of her contributions to environmental science and higher education.
Professor Folt earned bachelor's and a master's degrees from the University of California, Santa Barbara, her Ph.D. from University of California, Davis, and conducted postdoctoral studies at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station of Michigan State University.
