BOSTON—Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz issued a letter to the university community yesterday responding to criticism over the university's decision to close its Rose Art Museum and sell off its collection.

Addressing in particular a group of faculty who had sent him a "thoughtful letter" protesting the sale, as well as "students, staff, alumni, university presidents, and complete strangers," Reinharz said that the the "initial statements" he had made about the plan "did not accurately reflect the Board’s decision authorizing the administration to conduct 'an orderly sale or other disposition of works from the university’s collection.'"

He said that rather than selling off the entire collection of more than 7,000 works immediately, the school planned to "sell some artworks if necessary" and that the museum "will remain open, but in accordance with the Board’s vote, it will be more fully integrated into the University’s central educational mission."

"I take full responsibility for causing pain and embarrassment in both of these matters," he said. "To quote President Obama, 'I screwed up.'"

Dozens of faculty members had signed the letter to Reinharz, which stated that “the university’s deserved reputation as a beacon for both social justice and intellectual integrity is at stake here," the New York Times reports, and asked him to hold off on making a final decision about the museum until all possible alternatives could be considered by the community.

The museum's board had also issued a statement, according to the Times, saying that closing the Rose would cause “a breach of faith” with supporters who have “sustained the museum for almost 50 years based on agreements and understandings that the Rose Art Museum would be maintained on the Brandeis campus in perpetuity.”