Duke University professor Megan Lee Neely said she harbors “deep regret” for the hurt caused by her email that told Chinese students not to speak Chinese in student lounges, Duke’s student newspaper The Chronicle reported.

“I deeply regret the hurt my email has caused,” Neely wrote in a letter of apology. “It was not my intention. Moving forward, it is my sincerest wish that every student in the Master of Biostatistics is successful in all of their endeavors.”

On Friday, Neely sent an email to first- and second-year students in Duke’s Biostatistics & Bioinformatics department that later circulated online and led to great controversy. In the email, she told students that faculty had complained about students in lounges and study areas "speaking Chinese (in their words, VERY LOUDLY).” 

“They were disappointed that these students were not taking the opportunity to improve their English and were being so impolite as to have a conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand,” she wrote.

Neely has since stepped down from her role as the department’s graduate program director. Mary Klotman, Dean of the School of Medicine, has also sent an email to students ensuring that “there is absolutely no restriction or limitation” on what language students choose to use with each other.

Related: Duke Program Director Steps Down After Telling Students Not to Speak Chinese