The following statement has been issued through Mr. Williams:

JOHN TAYLOR WILLIAMS, ESQUIRE
HILL & BARLOW
A Professional Corporation
ONE INTERNATIONAL PLACE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02110-2607
FACSIMILE 617.428.3500 TELEPHONE 617.428.3000

FURTHER STATEMENT OF JOSEPH J. ELLIS

August 17, 2001

The tumultuous events of the summer have been all consuming and deeply painful for me, my family, and many members of the Mount Holyoke community. I am solely responsible and wish to express my personal regret to all students, faculty, and administrators who have been affected.

I also wish to reiterate and expand on my earlier public statements. By misrepresenting my military service to students in the course on the Vietnam War, I did something both stupid and wrong. I apologize to the students, as well as to the faculty of this institution, for violating the implicit covenant of trust that must exist in the classroom. Finally, I apologize to those Vietnam veterans who have expressed their understandable anger about my lie. I am truly sorry for the hurt I have caused.

I accept the sanctions determined by President Creighton. I will be away from the classroom for the coming academic year. During that period, I intend to find time for self-reflection and to begin work on a new book.

Joseph J. Ellis