Thomas Keon, the chancellor at Purdue University Northwest, is apologizing after comments he made during a graduation ceremony.
In a statement Wednesday night, he said, "I made a comment that was offensive and insensitive. I am truly sorry for my unplanned, off-the-cuff response to another speaker, as my words have caused confusion, pain, and anger."READ FULL STATEMENT FROM THOMAS KEON
"On Saturday, December 10, during one of our two PNW Commencement ceremonies, I made a comment that was offensive and insensitive. I am truly sorry for my unplanned, off-the-cuff response to another speaker, as my words have caused confusion, pain, and anger. Purdue University Northwest, and I personally, take great pride in being welcoming and inclusive to all people. Earlier this fall I announced the formation of a PRIDE Team initiative whose mission is to promote an open, respectful and welcoming culture.
Additionally, within the last year we at PNW welcomed our most diverse student body in history, opened a multicultural lounge to encourage the sharing of ideas from students of all backgrounds, and formed a broad group of faculty and staff with expertise in various cultural backgrounds to coordinate celebrations of cultural heritage. These priorities illustrate our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity, but clearly we need to do more, and we will.
We are all human. I made a mistake, and I assure you I did not intend to be hurtful and my comments do not reflect my personal or our institutional values. In the true spirit of diversity and inclusion that is a cornerstone of PNW, I will learn from this and assure you that Purdue Northwest and I will take action to prevent such missteps from occurring in the future.
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