… but if it’s true that Harvard’s chief diversity officer is a plagiarist, everyone’s gonna start talking.
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Just today, a new complaint emerged against Harvard’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Sherri Ann Charleston, alleging that she, too, engaged in scholarly misconduct. (Neither Charleston nor the university has responded to a request for comment on those allegations.)
Story jumps to Atlantic mag.
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The Harvard Crimson covers it today. Here’s the part that makes UD sit up.
The complaint also alleged that extensive passages in Sherri Charleston’s 2009 Ph.D. dissertation lifted language from a 2005 book written by Rebecca J. Scott, a professor of history and law at the University of Michigan. Scott co-chaired Charleston’s doctoral committee and advised Charleston on her dissertation.
Many passages describe or analyze historical events using phrases — and sometimes whole sentences — identical to those in Scott’s book. In each case, Charleston cites Scott but does not quote the shared language.
If they really were extensive, and if they were not quoted, it’s legitimate to ask why Scott didn’t notice anything.
Why no one noticed anything. The language was taken from a very high-profile book.
February 1st, 2024 at 4:33PM
Would it be better or worse if it turns out that Scott wrote parts of Charleston’s dissertation? Or that Scott didn’t write her own book and so didn’t recognize the quote? Lol.
February 1st, 2024 at 4:36PM
Anon: I’ve always found it plausible that some dissertation chairs, or committee members, essentially write parts of some students’ dissertations for them.