Dunleavy appointee to UA Board of Regents apologizes after social media posts come under fire
Randolph said in an emailed statement Monday that she was amazed, surprised and embarrassed that anyone would be interested in "personal comments I made without thinking" on Twitter.
"I do take full responsibility for them however," she wrote in the statement. "While the comments were made over a period of time prior to this appointment, I believe that I owe a sincere apology for the tone of my messages and the harsh language that was used. The language expressed was out of boldness and arrogance, as it never occurred to me that they would be seen in the context of a role such as a public figure."
The 11-member
Among the screenshots the
The
Randolph said in a phone interview Friday that she was an adult during the O.J. Simpson trial and had found the Cochran meme amusing. She didn't make the meme, she said.
She said she finds Twitter entertaining and doesn't take it seriously.
"It's just retweeting, but it doesn't mean that I endorse it," she said. "I don't have, you know, friends on Twitter. ... It's not related to anything that I do. It's just simple entertainment for me. I thought it was kind of off the grid. It's just, you know, something to do."
Randolph had changed her Twitter username by Friday and made her account private.
The
"Q claims to be a government insider exposing an entrenched, international bureaucracy that is secretly plotting all sorts of nefarious schemes against the Trump administration and its supporters," the newspaper reported.
Asked if she believed QAnon on Friday, Randolph said, "No. Heavens no. It's strictly entertainment. That's all it is." She later said: "I don't know whether it exists or not. I don't believe it or not believe it. I just simply don't know enough about it. But I find it interesting. I find it's like a puzzle. So that's all."
About the Michelle Obama post, she said: "Total entertainment. I just didn't like her fashion sense, so I was equating it to the fact, well, most guys don't have fashion sense. ... That was all it was. It wasn't meant for anybody. It wasn't meant to offend. It wasn't racist. It wasn't homophobic. I'm not any of those things. It wasn't anything other than I found it amusing, that's all."
The
Also on Thursday,
Shuckerow, Dunleavy's press secretary, wrote in an email Friday that the governor was pleased both Randolph and
"Through their efforts, and those of our educators across the
Shuckerow didn't respond to questions about whether the governor was aware of Randolph's Twitter posts and whether he found them appropriate for a regent.
Hargraves, 78, is a former
In general,
By Monday, Fallen said, he'd heard from about a dozen faculty members about Randolph's appointment. Some had concerns about a lack of experience in higher education, he said, and some were "quite alarmed" by some of the Twitter posts.
"I think they're inferring some things about her character from the tweets and retweets," he said.
He said he had not received feedback about Hargraves' appointment.
Randolph wrote in Monday's statement that she had deactivated her Twitter account.
"My intent moving forward is to direct that same energy and passion into the role of being a Regent. I plan to focus my efforts on what an honor it is to be considered for this appointment," she wrote. "The University has always been a source of pride for our community and I believe that it has a bright future."
Randolph described herself as a fiscal conservative. Her father-in-law is
"It's going to be a large learning curve and an exceptional challenge," she wrote. "While I appear to be off to an inauspicious beginning, if confirmed, I will serve with integrity and honor."
The two regents whose terms expire in early February are
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