Statements

Board of Trustees leaders statement on Chancellor Folt’s decision to remove Confederate Monument base and step down from office

Members of the Board of Trustees comment on Carol Folt's resignation and the decision to remove Confederate Monument base.

By University Communications, Monday, January 14th, 2019
The UNC Seal on a stone wall.
Fall scene of the seal of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill affixed to a stone pillar at the Cameron Avenue entrance. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)

(Chapel Hill, N.C.—Jan. 14, 2019) – As current officers of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees and a former chair who served with Chancellor Carol L. Folt, we support her decision to remove intact the base of the Confederate Monument and accept her decision to step down from her position. We thank Chancellor Folt for working tirelessly to elevate our University each and every day to serve the people of North Carolina and beyond.

The chancellor has ultimate authority over campus public safety, and we agree Chancellor Folt is acting properly to preserve campus security. Nothing is more important than keeping our campus community and visitors as safe as possible.

 We are sincerely grateful to Chancellor Folt for her dedicated service to our great University and the State of North Carolina. When she arrived in July 2013, she brought remarkable energy and deep passion to countless initiatives that have made Carolina stronger and poised to inspire future generations of students, faculty, staff and alumni. 

Under her leadership, our University launched new efforts to expand access and affordability for deserving students; surpassed for the first time $1 billion in research expenditures; and developed our first-ever overarching strategic framework, “The Blueprint for Next,” which will guide us well into the next decade. To ensure we have the continued resources to meet these goals and to bring us into our next chapter of growth, Chancellor Folt has played a vital role in the outstanding success of our $4.25 billion fundraising campaign. Above all, Chancellor Folt has cared deeply about her campus – students, faculty and staff – and has an abiding love and respect for the University community.

Carolina has been well served by its 11th chancellor. We will continue to work closely with Chancellor Folt and the UNC System to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Charles “Chuck” Duckett, Vice Chair
Julia Grumbles, Secretary
Lowry Caudill, Current Member and Past Chair

 

 

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