MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota has removed a plaque honoring humorist Garrison Keillor after he faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
Minnesota Daily reports that Keillor's plaque is no longer displayed on the Scholars Walk, which honors outstanding university faculty and alumni. But some of Keillor's song lyrics from an early radio show are still featured on campus.
Keillor graduated from the university in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in English.
The longtime Minnesota Public Radio personality is known for telling folksy stories about his fictional Minnesota hometown of Lake Wobegon on "A Prairie Home Companion." He was fired last year after facing allegations of workplace sexual harassment.
Keillor has denied the allegations and says that the radio station fired him without a proper investigation.
He wrote a letter to the Minnesota Daily that he shared with KARE 11:
"It’s odd to be punished by having something taken away that you never wanted in the first place, like when my mother sent me to my room for being sassy. I loved my room, all my books were there, I had no interest in going outdoors. And that’s how I feel about being removed from the Scholars Walk at the University because I’ve been accused of “inappropriate behavior” by Minnesota Public Radio. I looked at the Scholars Walk once and was embarrassed to be in it. I’m a writer, not a scholar, and writers don’t need plaques: we write books and if you wish you can read one, and if not, good luck and God bless. I wrote a slew of novels, essays, poems, have a collection of limericks on the way and am at work on a novella, 'Inappropriate Behavior.' As for the accusation, it is very far from the truth: what I am guilty of was friendship, not harassment. I believe I know the difference. As for the University, I wish you all a long and happy and productive life, and if you have that, plaques don’t matter. Go to your room. Do your work."
