"It's an amazing thing to be the chancellor of America's first public university," Folt said.
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Jan. 31 is her last day on the job, after the UNC System Board of Governors pushed her out months earlier than she planned to leave.
The Board of Governor's push to remove Folt came soon after she ordered the removal of the base of the Confederate monument Silent Sam.
Related:Who is Silent Sam
During her remarks, Folt did not specifically harp on the controversy surrounding the Confederate monument, but she did allude to it multiple times when she talked about the university's responsibility to be honest about its past while still pushing to the future.
RAW: Carol Folt's final Chancellor remarks at UNC
"If you're first, you have the responsibility to continue to do things that are needed with every generation," Folt said. "We take that very serious: to be of and for the people, to be honest about our history, while we look straight at the future and find a way to craft it to be a better place."
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Folt said she has faith in the leaders of UNC-Chapel Hill as well as the student body and alumni base around the world.
"I am at complete peace with my decision," Folt said. "That is important to me, and I want you to realize that. Not everybody has to agree with what people do, but I did what I thought was best, and I'm at peace with that."
She said she was not sure what her next position would be, but she said she would always be proud to be a Tar Heel.
Folt also posted a farewell message on the university's website. You can read it here.