'I will do better.' University of Louisville interim president regrets embarrassing UK flub

The University of Louisville named Lori Gonzalez as interim president replacing Neeli Bendapudi. Gonzalez gives the "L's up" sign after being interviewed by the media. Dec. 13, 2021
The University of Louisville named Lori Gonzalez as interim president replacing Neeli Bendapudi. Gonzalez gives the "L's up" sign after being interviewed by the media. Dec. 13, 2021
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The University of Louisville's new interim president made an embarrassing gaffe Friday when, during a commencement ceremony, she accidentally called the school by its rival, University of Kentucky.

And she wants people to know she realizes her mistake.

During the ceremony Friday, Lori Gonzalez, who was appointed interim president Monday, thanked outgoing U of L president Neeli Bendapudi for her leadership and "bringing me home to Kentucky and bringing me to this campus."

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She followed it by saying, "I love the University of Kentucky and I plan to continue the tremendous progress and trajectory we are on."

UK fans and grads reveled in the mistake, while the U of L community was not so pleased, though some were forgiving.

"We do love the Big Blue!" one Twitter user said.

"Not a great start," said another.

"If this is the worst thing that Interim Pres Gonzalez does, #CardNation will be just fine. Freudian slips are common," one tweet said.

Gonzalez, who is also the school's provost, later apologized for the misspeak.

"Ouch! I've given a lot of speeches, but last night wasn't my finest hour," she said. "I will do better. Congratulations again, graduates, on all of your accomplishments! Ls up!"

Gonzalez is filling the role of president after Bendapudi left to take over the presidency at Penn State University last week.

"I am very humbled to step into this position at a time when our university has tremendous momentum," Gonzalez said.

She acknowledged the sudden departures of Bendapudi and athletic director Vince Tyra has left many people in the community anxious and wondering what comes next.

"This is a resilient, world-class university that's greater than any one person," she said. "While this is a period of change and transition, I can speak with absolute confidence that our work will continue and that the spirit of the U of L community will continue to shine …"

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Gonzalez took over the positions of executive vice president and university provost in April of this year, having previously served as vice chancellor for academic, faculty and student affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis since 2015.

Contact Ayana Archie at aarchie@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @AyanaArchie. Support strong local journalism by subscribing to The Courier Journal.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville college president calls U of L Kentucky during grad speech