February 20, 2008
Columbia Prof Who Found Noose On Office Door Now Accused of Plagiarism
After a year-plus long investigation, Columbia Teachers College has sanctioned a professor for plagiarism. And the professor happens to be Madonna Constantine, the professor who found a noose on her office door last fall.
The Columbia Spectator got confirmation that the Teachers' College “found numerous instances in which she [Constantine] used others’ work without attribution in papers she published in academic journals over the past five years: "Prompted by complaints from students and one former faculty member" that Constantine used their language without attribution, TC retained a law firm which "concluded that Professor Constantine’s explanation for the strikingly similar language was not credible.”
Constantine says the investigation is "biased and flawed". Her lawyer told CityRoom Constantine is actually the victim of plagiarism, “all of that was ignored, and there was this rush to judgment that was unbelievable.” The professor of psychology and education specializes in "Cultural competence...Mental health issues of people of color...Vocational issues of adolescents and college students of color" and will have an opportunity to appeal.
Students are shocked, with one telling the Spec, “Is this where our tuition dollars are going? Toward the investigation of a woman whose words of insight and provocative thoughts have progressed the academic battle toward social justice? I honestly don’t understand the priorities here anymore when I see the good guys under siege.”
And at the time of hate crime investigation, it was revealed another professor had issues with Constantine. Constantine eventually filed defamation suit against Luthar in early 2007. Luthar was ruled out as a suspect and the investigation into the noose incident is still open. But now it appears the defamation suit was spurred by the plagiarism investigation - Luthar brought questions about Constantine's work to the attention of TC administration in 2006.
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Claims of racism in 3...2...1...
How is a year long investigation a "rush to judgement"?
And for that student who thinks her words provide "insight" and are "provacative": they apparently aren't her words. In the academic world, your career and identity are largely defined by your research and your papers, and so yes, some of your tuition dollars should go to defending the integrity of the work put out by your professors, their colleagues, and your fellow students. IF the allegations, IF she has been taking the work of other and not giving them their due, IF all of that is true, then she is not one of the good guys of academia.
As someone who works in academia, I understand first hand the pressure to publish, but plagiarism is plagiarism. Sometimes it's just the result of laziness, i.e. not citing correctly, but it sounds like this is much more than that. I've gotten pretty far without relying on plagiarism, so I have little sympathy for people who do it.
And by the way not that there's a chance they will be treated as such, but the noose incident and plagiarism scandal should are two separate, unrelated incidents.
Noose = Hate Crime, and I feel sorry she had to go through that
Plagiarism = Academic crime, and if she did it, she should suffer the consequences.
the noose was foreshadowing...
Why do I have the sneaking feeling that the noose incident may have been a preemptive strike against the results of the plagiarism investigation.
If memory serves, this was one in a series of noose incidents in the tri-state area that occurred at the time.
That's a really outdated picture. Check out the one on the City Room - 10 years and 50 pounds later.
edEx:
**applause**
"Her lawyer told CityRoom Constantine is actually the victim of plagiarism, “all of that was ignored, and there was this rush to judgment that was unbelievable"
This is the part that makes her sound like a liar. A former colleague and multiple students went out of their way to accuse her of one of the most serious academic offenses, why, because they just didn't like her? Is she arguing that these specific people actually stole from her, or just that other people did?
Unfortunately, in my umpteen years of grad school I've met way too many people who were totally full of crap and still managed to get ahead. I dare say that in academia being full of crap is an asset, not a liability.
The noose could have been a diversionary tactic on someone's part, but then again I tend to be cynical...
Now, without saying one way or the other who did what, I do have a question....
Presumably the students who claimed she plagiarized their work are saying that it happened thus - at some point, they handed said work into her, after which she plagiarized it (I make this assumption because she teaches undergraduates, and it is unlikely she would have seen their work outside of this scenario, as most undergraduates are unpublished). Now, that said, if HER story is to be believed....then....what? The students plagiarized her work and then turned it in to her? Plagiarized? For her to look at and grade them on?
I've gotta agree with Outter Burrougher on this one. And rtd2101. I work in academia, too, and plagiarism is maybe, possibly, in some unfathomable cases excusable amongst undergrads "because they don't know better." But if your ass has a PhD, there is no excuse you can come at me with to defend plagiarism, because you know - you know - exactly what you are supposed to be doing and what you are not supposed to be doing. IF she did it beyond a reasonable doubt, she should never be allowed another job in academia again. Period.
Actually, Teachers College is an all-graduate school. No undergrads. But I think your point still stands, since it's primarily Master's programs.
i wonder who constantine is voting for in the upcoming election?
Her reaction says it all. Hughes Hubbard does not conduct witch hunts. Columbia's counsel was aware that race was going to be a very sensitive issue here and her response would not have been unexpected. An 18 month investigation is not a rush to judgement. She is a plagiarist and race bater.
What a disgusting dirtbag. An independent investigation by an outside lawfirm showed numerous incidents of her STEALING other people's work, and all she can do is play the race card. Maybe she's having a hard time understanding that this isn't about her race because she's made her race the central focus of her entire career.
As Toby von Meistersinger pointed out, this does raise some questions about the noose incident. Could she have copied that also? If she was being investigated for 18 months, she probably was well aware she was being investigated of plagarism when the noose inicident took place, and it's not a stretch to imagine a motive of derailing the investigation by portraying herself as a victim of a random racist attack.
also, as lower manhattan pointed out (not that it's relevant in any way to the story) the picture gothamist is using is outdated, she's put on a lot of weight since whenever that photo was taken.
link to October 2007 article with more recent picture: http://tinyurl.com/27wm3p