UNC Chancellor Folt to step down, issues decision on Silent Sam

CHAPEL HILL, NC (AP) — The chancellor of North Carolina’s flagship public university says the school will remove the pedestal where a Confederate statue stood until protesters tore it down.

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt also announced to the campus Monday that she will step down at the end of the school year.

I am writing today to let you know that I have decided to step down as chancellor following graduation, at the end of the academic year: https://t.co/ehdKl1M0Rz pic.twitter.com/3doa3cTosW

— Carol Folt (@ChancellorFolt) January 14, 2019

Folt said she had authorized the removal of the “Silent Sam” statue’s pedestal from a main campus quad. She said safety was among the reasons for removing it but didn’t give a timetable. The empty base had continued to draw protesters for and against the statue.

The statue was torn down last year by protesters who called its origins racist. It was later put in temporary storage. Officials are seeking a new location for it.