(AP) — University of Iowa President Sally Mason is facing criticism after saying that ending sexual assault is “probably not a realistic goal, just given human nature.”

Mason has apologized for the comment she made earlier this month.

On Thursday, she opened a public forum on sexual assault issues. She told a group of about 200 about her experience of being assaulted by a stranger when she was a college student in 1970.

Mason said a man in a trench coat groped her as she walked to class in Lexington, Ky., before she was able to get away.

Growing emotional, she said she wants young women on campus “to know where to go if something like that happens to them.”

The Iowa Board of Regents scheduled a meeting Friday to hear from Mason.