Former Harvard President Claudine Gay announced her resignation on Tuesday — to the disappointment of many who lauded her appointment as the first Black president as a major achievement. For weeks, accusations of plagiarism plagued Gay. But many Black scholars argued that her real crime was being a Black woman in a position of power.
It’s worth asking how high-profile cases of plagiarism and other similar (and in some cases more egregious) forms of misconduct have been handled when the person accused was Black woman and when they were white.
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Claudine Gay
Former Harvard President Claudine Gay is obviously the most high profile case involving accusations of plagiarism right now. The accusations, which emerged publicly in December, primarily came from right-wing journalists, including Christopher Russo. Harvard University investigated, finding multiple incidents of “duplicative language,” and poor citations but nothing that rose to plagiarism or misconduct.
Claudine Gay Aftermath
As we all obviously know now, Gay resigned from her position on Tuesday while engulfed in a media firestorm. Countless articles have been written about the allegations and while Gay has held on to her teaching position at Harvard University, she lost her position as President only six months into her tenure.
Alan Dershowitz
In 2003, then-Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz was accused of plagiarizing multiple parts of his book The Case for Israel. Dershowitz vehemently denied the allegations arguing that this was a witch hunt against him because he was pro-Israel.
Alan Dershowitz Aftermath
Alan Dershowitz was cleared by the university remained in his position at Harvard University. He later retired from teaching there in 2013. Dershowitz was a major ring-leader in the movement to get Claudine Gay fired, writing in an op-ed that we have to “the D.E.I. bureaucracy must be dismantled, discredited and utterly destroyed.”
Former Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne
Last year, an investigation by Stanford University found that there was “manipulation of research data” in several papers authored by then-Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. However, they concluded that he did not personally engage in research misconduct.
Marc Tessier-Lavigne Aftermath
Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s accusations were given significantly less media scrutiny than Gay’s case. The accusations that data had been manipulated in his research were lodged publicly in earnest against the former university president in November of 2022. He resigned in July of 2023.
Neil Gorsuch
The Supreme Court had it’s own plagiarism scandal. Prior to his confirmation, Politico reported that he had “copied the structure and language used by several authors and failed to cite source material in his book and an academic article.” Multiple scholars interviewed by the outlet agreed that it was plagiarism.
Neil Gorsuch Aftermath
Obviously, there were no consequences because he ended up sitting on the Supreme Court with a lifetime appointment.
Neri Oxman Wife of Bill Ackman
Billionaire and Harvard donor Bill Ackman was a major force behind the push to oust Claudine Gay over plagiarism. But his wife, Neri Oxman, a former tenured professor at MIT had her own plagiarism scandal. Business Insider reported that Oxman plagiarized multiple parts of her dissertation.
Neri Oxman Aftermath
Oxman apologized on Thursday for not properly citing her sources. She said that she was no longer at MIT as of 2020 and had started a company.
Patricia Smith
Boston Globe Columnist Patricia Smith, who is Black, admitted to fabricating people and quotes in several of her columns in the 1990s.
Patricia Smith Aftermath
Smith was ousted from her job after admitting to the fabrications. Before the scandal, Smith was a celebrated and talented poet in the poetry slam scene and a beloved columnist, who nearly won a Pulitzer prize. Smith’s career as a journalist ended with her firing. Although she continued to be successful in her poetry career — winning the Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, she has kept out of the spotlight eversince leaving the journalism.
Mike Barnicle
Mike Barnicle was a peer of Smith’s at the Boston Globe also working as a columnist. The Boston Globe reportedly concluded that he had repeatedly stolen lines from comedian George Carlin and not come clean about it to the paper. The alleged plagiarism was discovered within weeks of the Smith ousting. He was also later suspected of potentially fabricating the existence two boys with cancer for a column.
Mike Barnicle Aftermath
Barnicle was initially suspended from the paper for a month, according to a contemporary Washington Post article. He was later asked to resign, but ultimately was allowed to remain on at the paper. Weeks later, he was eventually forced to quit after his editors were unable to determine whether two boys with cancer in his columns were real. Even at the time, the handling of his case drew comparisons to Smith’s. Unlike Smith, he maintained a career in journalism. He was hired as a columnist at the Boston Globe and became a regular contributor to MSNBC and the Today Show.
Janet Cooke
Janet Cooke, a Black Washington Post reporter, admitted to fabricating a story about an 8 year-old boy who was addicted to heroin. She had won a Pulitzer Prize for the story.
Janet Cooke Aftermath
Janet Cooke was forced to resign from her position at the Washington Post. Cooke never worked as a journalist or writer again. The one-time Pulitzer Prize winner was later interviewed about her life, and said she was working at a department store for around minimum wage because she couldn’t get other work. “I don’t think that in this particular case the punishment has fit the crime. I’ve lost my voice. I’ve lost half of my life. I’m in a situation where cereal has become a viable dinner choice,” she told the Washington Post in 1996. Her current whereabouts and career are unknown.
Honorable Mention: President Joe Biden
Speaking of allegations of plagiarism, the President of the United States had his own run-in with plagiarism allegations. During the 1980s, the New York Times reported that the then-Senator had plagiarized several parts of his speeches from British politicians.
President Joe Biden Aftermath
President Joe Biden did face consequences for the New York Times report. He left the 1988 Presidential race. However, that (obviously) didn’t tank his political career. He’s now the President of the United States.
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