Duke University professor apologies to Chinese speakers over language row
- Academic steps down from graduate studies post after urging students to ‘commit’ to speaking English and warning of potential damage to their career
A Duke University professor and administrator who sparked an outcry by admonishing students for speaking Chinese has issued a personal apology amid an internal review by the school.
Megan Neely, who stepped down as graduate studies director in the medical school’s biostatistics master’s degree programme, issued the apology in an email on Sunday to students in the programme.
It came two days after she sent a message to a student email list urging students to “commit” to speaking English in an academic building and suggesting possible consequences for those who did not.
“I deeply regret the hurt my email has caused. It was not my intention,” said Neely, who remains an assistant professor at the university in Durhan, North Carolina. “Moving forward, it is my sincerest wish that every student in the master of biostatistics programme is successful in all of their endeavours.”
The warning she emailed to students on Friday angered Duke’s international students, as well as social media users outside the campus community.