October 11, 2007

Plagiarism Report Says Southern Illinois President Made Only 'Errors and Mistakes'

A faculty committee has issued its verdict on whether Glenn Poshard, president of Southern Illinois University, plagiarized numerous portions of his dissertation, which he completed at the university in 1984. In short, he’s off the hook.

That’s not to say he didn’t plagiarize. The report, a copy of which was given to The Chronicle earlier today, finds “many instances” in Mr. Poshard’s dissertation in which “the words of others are present in a continuous flow with student Poshard’s own words, so that readers cannot distinguish between those sources.” Remarkably, the report does not deem those instances to be plagiarism. They are, instead, “errors and mistakes.”

The committee, made up of seven Southern Illinois faculty members, writes that there are a number of mitigating factors, such as the lack of a definition of plagiarism in the graduate-student handbook at the time. It goes on to say that his many failures to properly credit the work of others was “consistent with the informal style” practiced by others in his department. It recommends that Mr. Poshard be allowed to correct the “incorrect practices” in the dissertation and that no disciplinary action be taken.

The report leaves several key questions unanswered. For instance, why does Mr. Poshard correctly cite passages in some instances but not in others? Isn’t that proof that he knew how to give proper credit, but simply chose not to do so throughout much of the dissertation?

The report is unlikely to stop debate on the campus about whether Mr. Poshard should step down. A petition signed by 30 Southern Illinois professors calls for an independent committee to review the dissertation. Robert Bruce Ware, a professor of philosophy at the university’s Edwardsville campus, was one of those who signed the petition. He said he had been contacted by other professors who wished to sign but were afraid of retribution.

“A person who doesn’t understand what intellectual integrity is has no business leading our university,” he said. Mr. Ware called what Mr. Poshard did in the dissertation “intellectual theft.”

In one of the most perplexing portions of the report, Mr. Poshard argues that he was a “novice” in his field and therefore “did not want to assert his own voice.” In addition, the president of the university says he received no training on the meaning of plagiarism.

The Chronicle attempted, without success, to reach all of the seven professors who prepared the report.

Some professors at Southern Illinois — and elsewhere — are wondering what message the report’s findings send to students. It’s not a good one, according to John M. Barrie, the creator of turnitin.com, a plagiarism-search engine. “People always ask me why the problem of plagiarism is so bad,” Mr. Barrie said. “One of the reasons is that presidents of universities are doing this kind of thing, and when they’re caught, they wave it off.” —Thomas Bartlett

Comments

1. It really pains me to say this, but…ho hum, another cheating scandal. It’s like cheating has become part of American culture. Seriously, who ISN’T cheating?

   — Ross    Oct 11, 03:41 PM    #

2. I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Barrie. While I believe extenuating circumstances exist with issues of plagiarism, those quoted in this article are not.

   — David Armbruster    Oct 11, 03:45 PM    #

3. Students and faculty at SIU now find themselves in an uncomfortable place. Either the same “benefit of clergy” can now be claimed by any student or faculty-member, in which case a degree from that institution, or affiliation with it, becomes the academic equivalent of the mark of Cain; or it cannot, which will leave the University exposed to a legal challenge by anyone against whom it should seek to take disciplinary measures for similar offences in the future.

   — Gustave    Oct 11, 03:48 PM    #

4. I still don’t understand how such a claim against a president results in the president keeping his job. Out of concern for the respect and reputation of SIU, Poshard should resign. Is there no end to the self-serving behavior in this society!!!!

   — Kimberly    Oct 11, 03:59 PM    #

5. This is appalling—equally appalling is the fact that it’s not an isolated incident in academia. How can we argue that our students must meet standards if this sort of thing goes unchecked?
   One of the most galling lines—although it’s hard to choose—is the one about “not receiving training on the meaning of plagiarism.” In 1984? Come on.

   — Carolyn Segal    Oct 11, 04:27 PM    #

6. “[T]he president of the university says he received no training on the meaning of plagiarism.” This is incredible. Someone from SIU did a doctoral dissertation without knowing what plagiarism means? If this is true, how many other graduates of this university might be out there who are guilty of the same offense? Would someone from that era please verify, if it was the SIU’s culture to plagiarize freely? When did that culture change if it changed at all?

   The faculty who exhonerated their president, did a disservice to academia. The stigma as a school that condones plagiarism will stick with SIU for a long time to come.

   — Mathew    Oct 11, 04:41 PM    #

7. Maybe you can’t count on impeccable integrity from a plagiarist, but if Poshard cared more about the institution than himself, he would have resigned. He still needs to. A half-hearted defense of the indefensible from a group appointed by the administration just compounds the damage. SIU deserves better from its leaders.

   — Lee    Oct 11, 04:46 PM    #

8. SHAME on Poshard! SHAME on the faculty committee! SHAME on SIU!

   — Ben    Oct 11, 04:53 PM    #

9. People here really need to understand that “president” Poshard didn’t write a disseration. It was authored by “student” Poshard. We should all consider what the experts say about the issue and how they define the many degrees of plagiarism. To say that it is a black and white issue is to do a disservice to academia. Are we all head and no heart?

   — Buck    Oct 11, 04:59 PM    #

10. You haven’t seen seen anything about plagiarism untill you visit www.USMNews.net: “What went wrong with College of Business’ re-accreditaiton.” It recounts accepted plagiarism practices at the University of Southern Mississippi. At USM, administrators, after getting caught, get permission to copy “without proper citation.” And that makes it okay!

    — Chauncey M. DePree, Jr.    Oct 11, 05:14 PM    #

11. Yawn. It was almost 30 years ago … don’t people today have anything better to do? How ‘bout making sure students TODAY don’t plagiarize instead of worrying about who may have made mistakes 30 years ago? Revisionists are never kind: I wonder what’s in THEIR closets?

    — Sol    Oct 11, 05:16 PM    #

12. Mr. Poshard apparently failed to distinguish between his words and those of others in his dissertation. Equally “remarkable,” the Chronicle has utterly failed to distinguish between real news and its own indignant editorial opinion when ostensibly reporting objectively on the matter. It is quite reasonable to demand a much higher standard both from a doctoral student who would, many years later, become a university president, and a publication that today wishes to be perceived as a serious news provider.

    — Ronald    Oct 11, 05:30 PM    #

13. Poshard was a lifetime politician, not an educator. In today’s times, who is better equiped to direct a state university – an educator or a politician?

    — Phil    Oct 11, 05:40 PM    #

14. Another legacy of the Clintonian philosophy that we’re not responsible for an action if we really, really need to do it.

    — Mel Gee    Oct 11, 05:51 PM    #

15. Sol and Ronald seem to be forgetting “President” Poshard involvement in the dismissal of Chancellor Wendler with the latter facing accusations of plagiarism. Poshard didn’t have anything better to do than dismiss Wendler; SIU had nothing better to do than dismiss an assistant professor for a similar offense. How can anyone or any institution make such judgments and NOT be held to the same standards?

    — Ben    Oct 11, 05:52 PM    #

16. Let him/her who has no sin cast the first stone at Poshard. Many messages, letters and resume are sometime plagiarized! Visit the web site below. Who wrote that message?
    http://www.wssu.edu/WSSU/GraduateStudies/

    — Atanda    Oct 11, 05:54 PM    #

17. Mel Gee —

    How, exactly, is “Clintonian philosophy” involved in this? Poshard wrote his dissertation while Reagan was president and the committee cleared him under GWB. One could just as easily paint it as a Bushian philosophy that we can do what we want as long as we don’t call it what it is.

    — CU Alum    Oct 11, 07:35 PM    #

18. What is going on at SIU? For a few years all you can read is an assistant professor dismissed for plagiarism; a chancellor dismissed for lifting the 20/20 strategic vision document from Texas A&M; and now their president being accused of plagiarism. Next time SIU academic community please vet your leaders very carefully before they come onboard and stain your reputation unnecessarily. SIU deserves better!

    — George    Oct 11, 10:13 PM    #

19. The faculty committe is completely in line with other faculty members and administrations who knowingly allow illegal aliens to study in their classrooms. That is, they allow (no, they condone) lying, cheating and stealing, and are applauded for it. So, what’s the difference? Where do we now draw the line at right and wrong, legal and illegal, ethical and otherwise?

    — Ron    Oct 11, 10:32 PM    #

20. SIU cannot begin to refurbish its reputation until Mr. Poshard moves on. That will be evident day by day. Sad but true.

    — Mike Marty    Oct 11, 11:27 PM    #

21. Any stone throwers got the cahonees to post their dissertation in here, so we might all scrutinize and comment on it?
    How about the staff of the Chronicle?

    — Wondering    Oct 12, 03:09 AM    #

22. Sounds lke the faculty were trained by the Bush adinistation. “Mistakes were made! Let’s move on! Now is not the time for anger!” So much for accountability and credibility. Supposed ignorance of the law is always an excuse. Save the pres, but destroy the university. Now all SIU students (and faculty) can plagiarize freely. What a microcosm of our nation the admin SIU is (and its faculty enablers too, who are no doubt getting kickbacks for their shameless, pathetic excuses for misconduct and fraud).

    — Richard Burt    Oct 12, 07:01 AM    #

23. It is interesting to note that this issue was brought to the attention of many at this time. Why do you want to blame the president? The doctoral dessertation committee members should be questioned, not the candidate. Drop the matter and move on to serve the students, faculty, university and the community.

    — Kan Chandras    Oct 12, 09:41 AM    #

24. Plagiarize: To steal and pass off as one’s own (the ideas or words of another). To present as one’s own an idea or product derived from an existing source.

    Source: Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Company, 1965), 646.

    — Auctor Ignotus    Oct 12, 11:20 AM    #

25. Of course, one could look at the work of Robert Bruce Ware and see if he has plagiarized. I have and guess what!

    — Jason    Oct 13, 03:49 PM    #

26. This whole mess actually has a positive side. The Chicago Tribune gave the internal Review Committee an award for the “Best Euphemism for ‘Plagiarism’” for coining the phrase “infelicities in attribution”. Very prestigous!!

    — SIUC Alumni    Oct 17, 04:28 PM    #

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