Harvard President Claudine Gay seeks corrections amid House panel plagiarism investigation
Harvard President Claudine Gay faces heightened scrutiny as she requests further corrections to her previous work, while a House committee expands its investigation into Harvard to include allegations of plagiarism.
According to a statement provided to CNN on Thursday, a Harvard spokesperson revealed that Gay intends to amend her 1997 PhD dissertation to address additional instances of “inadequate citation.”
These new corrections, as reported by The Harvard Crimson, come in addition to the ones Gay addressed last week regarding two scholarly articles from the 2000s. However, CNN’s review, published on Wednesday, identified that the previous corrections did not rectify more blatant instances of plagiarism in Gay’s earlier academic endeavors, including her dissertation.
The Harvard Corporation, the university’s primary governing board, disclosed last week that, at Claudine Gay’s request, it initiated an independent review of her published work in late October. However, Harvard clarified on Thursday that the review did not encompass Gay’s dissertation as, at the time, the allegations pertained solely to her published works.
In response to recent plagiarism accusations, Harvard reported that its subcommittee examined the dissertation and identified “one replica of a missing citation or quotation mark” previously noted in a published paper. This discrepancy has been rectified, along with two additional instances of duplicative language lacking proper attribution.
“President Gay intends to revise her dissertation, addressing these instances of insufficient citation,” stated the university spokesperson.
Despite the recent revelations, Harvard asserts that Gay’s actions do not amount to misconduct. The university spokesperson commented on Thursday, saying, “The subcommittee and the Corporation members concluded that Gay’s inadequate citations, while unfortunate, do not constitute research misconduct.”
Simultaneously, the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce has broadened its ongoing investigation, initially focused on increasing antisemitism on campus, to now encompass allegations of plagiarism against Gay. Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, outlined in a Wednesday letter that the committee “has initiated a review of Harvard University’s handling of credible plagiarism allegations against President Claudine Gay spanning 24 years.” Foxx emphasized the unique concern given Harvard’s standing as a premier educational institution in the country.
Allegations of plagiarism against Gay initially surfaced from conservative activists and were later disseminated by the conservative publication, the Washington Free Beacon. These accusations emerged subsequent to her testimony on antisemitism at Harvard University.
President Gay recently made corrections to two papers authored in 2001 and 2017.
Foxx stated, “Harvard upholds rigorous academic and ethical standards.” Referring to the 2021-22 academic year, she cited the Harvard College Honor Council’s annual report, which detailed 42 plagiarism investigations, 35 exam cheating allegations, and 19 other Honor Code violations. Of these, 70 cases resulted in findings of responsibility, leading to academic probation or mandatory withdrawal.
In her letter, Foxx questions whether the university applies the same standards to its faculty, including the president. The Republican committee chair requested a written response by December 29, along with relevant documents concerning plagiarism and the university’s independent review.
Additionally, she sought a list of disciplinary actions taken against Harvard faculty or students for academic integrity violations or plagiarism since 2019.
Gay, in a prior statement, affirmed, “I maintain the integrity of my scholarship. Throughout my career, I have diligently ensured that my scholarly work adheres to the highest academic standards.”
(CNN)