In reference to an article in the Nov. 3 issue of the Minnesota Daily, which reported that I was cited by campus police for illegally parking with a handicap permit issued to my deceased mother-in-law, I offer the following:

I am deeply and truly sorry about committing this indiscretion. This was a personal and professional lapse in judgment that reflects poorly on me. As a professor here at the University of Minnesota, it tarnishes also the reputation of my school, my profession and my University.

We all have a responsibility to behave ethically and professionally at all times. As someone entrusted with the privilege of educating health care professionals and citizens of our greater community, this is one of lifeâÄôs lessons that I attempt to instill in every student. As an educator, though, I bear a special responsibility to serve as a role model, to act always with integrity, to be introspective in evaluating my own decisions and behaviors and to recognize and take responsibility if a lapse in judgment occurs. I did fail my responsibility on this occasion. My poor decision was a breach of ethics and it was wrong.

This has been a painful experience for many reasons but especially because I believe this behavior was out of character for me. It is something I had never done before and promise will never happen again. But I know that who we are as humans is defined by our failures as much as our successes and by what we learn from these missteps.

Obviously I have thought about this a lot and believe it is important for me to publicly express my remorse, to apologize for my behavior and to share these thoughts.