October 29, 2025
Dear Trojans,
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Carol Kim as Vice President, Enrollment Management, effective February 25, 2026. Carol is a visionary, global-enrollment strategist known for building transformative programs from the ground up, creating international partnerships, and expanding access through innovative recruitment and financial aid models. In her new role, she will lead USC’s enrollment strategy and continue our efforts to advance our commitment to academic excellence and access.
Carol joins us from New York University (NYU), where she oversees recruitment, admissions, and financial aid across NYU’s global network of campuses (in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai) and other global sites. As the Vice President of Global Recruitment, Admissions, and Financial Aid, and with her team of 172 professionals, she has presided over the annual review of 120,000 applications and provided oversight of a financial aid budget of over $500 million, ensuring strategic allocation across ten undergraduate schools, three global campuses, and four global sites. Among her many other achievements, Carol also successfully implemented the NYU Promise, a tuition-free program for families earning under $100,000.
Prior to NYU, Carol served as Senior Vice Provost of Enrollment Management & Strategic Partnerships and Senior Vice President for Global Partnerships at The New School. There, she demonstrated her talent for innovation with an entrepreneurial flair by establishing the university’s Global Offsite program during the pandemic, which spanned four countries and ten campuses, with the objective of retaining international students and enabling them to thrive when the world was otherwise locked down. During that same time period, Carol developed and implemented additional revenue-generating global partnerships, including a new Parsons pre-college education program in Shanghai, China.
Carol’s leadership at NYU and The New School has reshaped those institutions’ global admissions and financial aid practices while continuing to advance access and institutional sustainability. Her 25+-year career in higher education includes several inaugural positions, such as the former Vice President of International Relations at CalArts, where she led global strategy, created and launched CalArts’ first online course, and increased international visibility, and as the former Vice President of Planning and Communications for YueCheng Education in Beijing. Carol holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania (with distinction), a B.S. and M.A. (both with distinction) from New York University, and is a graduate of Harvard’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education.
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to the search advisory committee, with special thanks to co-chairs Monique Allard, Vice President for Student Life, and Melissa Just, Dean of the USC Libraries, and the many hours each member of the committee dedicated to ensuring a successful recruitment process. Your service has been invaluable and exemplifies the commitment of the Trojan Family to USC’s continued success.
Finally, I want to express my extraordinary gratitude to Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management Tim Brunold, who has served in this crucial role for more than a year. His leadership has been essential to our continued success in all admissions and enrollment activities, and he has been a vital intellectual partner as we’ve navigated the difficult task of building financial resilience while maintaining our promise of providing access to a world-class education. Because I cannot imagine a leadership team absent his wisdom, experience, and dedication to the Trojan educational mission, I have asked, and he has agreed, to serve as Special Advisor to the Provost in addition to continuing his excellent work in his role as Dean of Admission. Tim will continue to lead the office until Carol’s arrival in late February, and we are deeply grateful for his thoughtful leadership.
On behalf of Interim President Kim, I hope you will join me in welcoming Carol to the Trojan Family. Through her visionary leadership, innovative strategies, and steadfast commitment to the students and communities we serve, USC is sure to be an even stronger institution.
Sincerely,
Andrew T. Guzman
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs