UNC Chancellor Carol Folt released a statement in an e-mail to the Carolina community Tuesday addressing the university’s devotion to investigating and resolving allegations of “academic irregularities.”

The e-mail was sent in the wake of continued allegations against the university’s African-American Studies department, in which former Tar Heel basketball star, Rashad McCants, claimed to have taken bogus classes in order to continue his athletic eligibility during the 2004-2005 UNC basketball championship season. McCants went public with his claims in an interview on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines”, broadcasted Friday morning.

Folt informed that she hired former federal prosecutor, Kenneth Wainstein, earlier this year to conduct an investigation into the athletic and academic issues of “paper classes”, and ensured the process is still ongoing.

“It is clear that our community cares deeply about these issues, and I want to assure you that we are doing our best to resolve remaining questions,” Folt said. “I believe we have a responsibility to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and University community at large to ensure we get this right, (and) to empower Mr. Wainstein to investigate fully, thoughtfully and without any interference.”