A University of Hawaii professor apologized Sunday for comments about the quality of education at Kamehameha Schools that he made during a symposium on the Thirty Meter Telescope.

UH professor John Learned, who works in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was embroiled in controversy after TMT protesters circulated a clip Sept. 18 of him saying, “We know that the Kam Schools are academically unsuccessful. … A student that we have here who is working on his master’s and is a physics teacher at Kam Schools, he told me that he had to graduate people in physics that couldn’t even read.”

Learned’s comments, which were recorded by UH College of Education assistant professor Summer Maunakea, were denounced by Kamehameha Schools and by UH President David Lassner, who urged civility among UH students, faculty and staff.

The pro-TMT Learned, who initially denied that his comments were racist, issued an apology for “inappropriate remarks” Sunday about an hour after the group Mauna Kea Protectors at the University of Hawaii spoke out against the UH administration’s handling of the incident involving him.

“I have apologized to the UH faculty member who is a Kamehameha Schools graduate and was present when I made the comments,” Learned said in a statement. “I will truly never know the extent of the pain my words have caused her and everyone connected to Kamehameha Schools. As President Lassner said, Kamehameha Schools is a trusted and valued partner to the university, and I am very sorry for causing such distress in both institutions. I cannot undo what has been done, but please know that I regret it deeply.”

Learned’s comments came on the heels of a Thursday message to the UH community issued by Lassner, who said, “We must also be a place where our community learns to disagree respectfully, with civility and understanding of others and their perspectives. We learn from one another when we listen, not when we dismiss. And whether we even realize it when we utter them, hurtful words cut off true discourse.”

Without naming Learned, Lassner addressed Learned’s comment saying, “We apologize to the entire Kamehameha Schools ohana for the disparaging remarks of one faculty member, who does not represent the positions or views of the University of Hawaii or its leadership.”

But on Sunday Mauna Kea Protectors at the University of Hawaii issued a statement expressing disappointment over Lassner’s handling of the incident and calling Learned a “‘sacrificial lamb’ to atone for the institution’s well-entrenched and chronically unaddressed undercurrent of racial discrimination.”

“The fact that Prof. Learned felt free to make discriminatory comments about Hawaiians so openly in the company of his peers and President Lassner on the University’s listserv, as well as in public forums, evidences how deeply entrenched the problem of racism is at the University,” they added.

The Mauna Kea Protectors at the University of Hawaii went on to call Learned’s comments “deplorable” but said that “so are the behaviors of other senior faculty members whose anti-Hawaiian, anti-local rhetoric appears on emails that are archived on the UH System.”

“These concerns pre-date the TMT issue and are highlighted now because of the way TMT supporters at the university are using racialized slurs, discriminatory statements, and hostile behavior to promote their position,” the Mauna Kea Protectors said.