Purdue Northwest chancellor apologizes for commencement remarks, protest follows

CHICAGO - A civil rights advocate group has planned a protest following "racist remarks" made by Purdue Northwest chancellor Thomas Keon. 

Chancellor Keon spoke at the Purdue Northwest commencement ceremony on Dec. 10. When transitioning from a pervious speaker, Keon said he made an "unplanned, off-the-cuff response."

Keon released an apology statement on Wednesday saying he is "truly sorry."

"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," Keon said in his statement to the PNW community. 

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The Asian Pacific American Advocates (OCA) put out a statement on Friday ahead of the protest saying Keon's remarks "were a racist attempt at humor gone wrong."

The group says the apology issued by Keon does not go far enough. 

OCA called on the chancellor to apologize by facing not just the PNW community but the entire community. They also urged the university to review the chancellor's Poston.