Chancellor Carol Folt’s last day leading UNC – Chapel Hill was Thursday, when the Board of Trustees happened to have a regular meeting scheduled.
During her remarks at the meeting, Folt quoted Dr. Seuss when reflecting on her time in Chapel Hill.
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Folt announced in mid-January that she would be resigning. She coupled that announcement with an order to remove the remaining base of the Confederate monument on the campus known as Silent Sam; the monument’s statue was toppled by protesters last August. The UNC System Board of Governors accepted Folt’s resignation but accelerated the timeline from the end of the academic year, as the chancellor had planned, to the end of January – a move that Folt referenced Thursday.
“I feel a little bit like a senior, although I’m graduating a little bit early,” she said to laughter in the room.
Folt said it was an “amazing thing” to be the chancellor of the nation’s first public university. She added that she was “at complete peace” with her decision to step away as chancellor and remove the remnants of the Confederate monument.
“Not everybody has to agree with what people do,” Folt said. “But I did what I thought was best, and I’m at peace with that. We have the statue that we are still dealing with, and I do believe that the wisdom in this room will find the right solution for this university.
“And I really do have trust and faith in that. Because our responsibility is to make wonderful things happen on our campus, to enrich the prosperity and well-being of this state and even more to make sure that this is a place where our students and our staff and our faculty thrive and feel safe.”
Folt and the UNC – Chapel Hill Board of Trustees brought a proposal to the system Board of Governors in December to move the monument to a new $5 million facility that would house the statue and additional space for exhibits and teaching. That plan drew criticism from many circles and was rejected by the Board of Governors. Five members of that board are now working with the campus to bring a new plan for the monument’s future to the Board of Governors by mid-March. System officials have said recently that timeline is still in place, even though the monument’s base has been removed.
Interim UNC System President Dr. Bill Roper is tasked with naming Folt’s replacement, although Thursday came and went with no announcement. Roper told reporters at the meeting that university rules would allow Provost Bob Blouin to step in and lead the university until an interim chancellor is named.
“I have every confidence that Dr. Blouin will do a very good job for as long as we need it,” he said. “But I anticipate a decision sometime in the middle of next week perhaps.”
Roper has been meeting with stakeholders across the campus and state in evaluating what factors should be included in the search for an interim chancellor, stressing that making the “right” decision is more important than making a quick appointment. Roper estimated that an interim chancellor could be named by the middle of next week.
Folt said she was excited about what lies ahead for her – although she did not have any concrete plans to announce Thursday – but said that she had been involved in conversations with Roper and Blouin about the next steps for UNC after her departure.
“We’re in the middle of a [fundraising] campaign; we’re more than halfway there,” she said. “We have so many dreams. They’ve got the Blueprint for Next [strategic plan]. And those things come from the entire community.
“Bill Roper, himself, has been a very visionary and aspirational leader in our whole medical system and the hospitals. He’s bringing that same kind of, ‘Let’s be ready for the future. Let’s build this system to be the best in the world’ attitude as president. And he’s looking for the chancellor to be part of that forward progress.”
Folt thanked the campus community for what has been accomplished during her tenure leading UNC – Chapel Hill. She came to campus during turmoil from the long-running paper-class scandal and ended with the controversy surrounding Silent Sam. But Folt reiterated that the business of the university is in a healthy place, with record applications, a boom in faculty research funding and record-setting fundraising numbers all during her time.
Folt was honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine on Thursday, the highest honor that can be bestowed by the governor.
After starting her remarks with a quote from Dr. Seuss, she ended with words from Teddy Roosevelt.
“I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many of people who led difficult lives and led them well,” she said. “So together, we’re going to accomplish a lot. And we’ll never look for the easy way; we’ll always look for the right way. So, thank you. It has been such a privilege.”
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