November 7, 2003

Naval Academy Demotes Professor Accused of Plagiarism in a Book on the A-Bomb

By THOMAS BARTLETT

T he U.S. Naval Academy announced last week that it was stripping a history professor of tenure and slashing his salary after an internal investigation found that he had plagiarized material in his book about the development of the atomic bomb.

The professor, Brian VanDeMark, 43, was demoted from associate to assistant professor, and his salary was cut from $73,000 to $63,000. A statement from the Naval Academy said Mr. VanDeMark's actions were the result of "gross carelessness" but