The dean of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has apologized for what he called his “poor judgment” in using an anonymous student’s quotation in an article in the school’s alumni magazine, according to today’s Daily Northwestern.

The quotation testified to the excellence of a marketing class at the school, but critics have suggested that the dean, John Lavine, fabricated the quote in order to burnish the image of the marketing class and other curricular changes that have been controversial at Northwestern since he instituted them last year.

But in his statement of apology, Mr. Lavine says only that he regrets not attaching the student’s name to the quote. He does not provide the name of the student, adding that “I do not make up quotes.” He has said the quote came from a deleted e-mail message or lost notes.

He issued the statement on the same day that the university opened an investigation into the matter and that 17 Medill faculty members signed a letter describing the controversy as a “crisis” and insisting that Mr. Lavine provide a complete explanation of his actions. Mr. Lavine previously suggested that writing for a marketing-oriented alumni magazine did not require him to uphold the same journalistic standards on proper sourcing as would writing for a newspaper. —Andrew Mytelka