February 20, 2008

Investigation Finds That Columbia U. Professor Plagiarized Repeatedly

The case of a Columbia University professor who reported last fall finding a noose outside her office door has taken an odd turn. The professor, Madonna G. Constantine, has been reprimanded for two dozen instances of plagiarism, according to a spokeswoman for the university.

That news was first reported by the university’s student paper, The Columbia Spectator, which obtained a copy of a memorandum informing faculty members of the findings. The university is not revealing what punishment Ms. Constantine, who is a professor of psychology and education in the Teachers College, will face — only that it falls short of dismissal. The university spokeswoman, Marcia Horowitz, also declined to release examples of the alleged plagiarism.

In October, Ms. Constantine, who is African-American, said she had found a noose dangling outside the door of her office at Columbia. The New York Police Department’s hate-crime task force told the Spectator in January that it still had no suspects in the incident.

When asked for comment today on the plagiarism charges, Ms. Constantine sent a 475-word written statement in which she questions the neutrality of the investigation and calls the administration’s memo “premature, vindictive, and mean-spirited.” She also contends that there has been “a conspiracy and a witch-hunt” by people, whom she does not name, in the Teachers College. Ms. Constantine writes that she plans to appeal the findings of the investigation.

The investigation into the plagiarism accusations was conducted by a law firm, Hughes Hubbard and Reed, and began in 2006. Ms. Constantine had been aware of the investigation, according to Ms. Horowitz. The spokeswoman called allegations of a conspiracy against Ms. Constantine “absurd.” —Thomas Bartlett

Comments

1. One hates to be cynical about such things, but the timeline surrounding this episode does raise questions:-

   2006: An investigation is initiated into allegations of plagiarism against Prof. Constantine—raised, according to the Spectator article, by some of her postgraduate students whose coursework found its way into her publications.

   May 2007: Prof. Constantine sues Prof. Suniya Luthar, who succeeded her as head of the Department of Counselling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers’ College, for “defamation, libel and slander.” According to news reports, Prof. Luthar had complained that Prof. Constantine took credit in a co-publication for work actually done by Prof. Luthar.

   October 2007: The noose is found on Prof. Constantine’s door. Prof. Luthar becomes a suspect as a result of what the President of Teachers’ College calls “false and baseless rumors,” and is questioned by police. The NYPD later state that Prof. Luthar is no longer a subject of their investigation.

   February 2008: Prof. Constantine denounces the finding of plagiarism against her as “a conspiracy and witch hunt.”

   None of this means that the noose episode could not have been a genuine racial incident. But the fact that it took place at the very time that this plagiarism investigation was apparently coming to a conclusion makes me less convinced of that than I was a week ago.

   — Gustave    Feb 21, 12:17 PM    #

2. It’s worth noting that Teachers College is a legally separate institution from Columbia. Prof. Constantine teaches at TC, and it is TC that investigated and disciplined her. Columbia itself is a bystander in this.

   In other forums I have seen people draw connections between her and various events at Columbia, and I want to note the separateness of the two entities before that happens here.

   — CU Alum    Feb 21, 02:09 PM    #

3. I suppose the police have considered the possibility that the person who placed the noose might have been Professor Constantine herself.

   Or maybe knot.

   — Joseph F Foster    Feb 22, 08:12 AM    #

4. not to worry, “dr” Constantine will inevitably be a very desirable commodity to many schools who will invite her to further join their diversity charades…seen it all before…she is just reprehensible and all too common

   — g    Feb 24, 10:44 PM    #

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