With more and more allegations of plagiarism in her academic papers, House Republicans are expanding their probe against Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), head of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, demanded further details on the accusations against Gay in a letter they sent to Penny Pritzker, a senior fellow at Harvard Corporation.
In order to keep its federal financing, the university must ensure that its students do not engage in academic dishonesty, such as cheating or plagiarism. According to Foxx, members of the education sector are being subjected to various regulations since these requirements are not being enforced uniformly.
The letter states that the purpose and value of a university’s education are diminished when professors are not held responsible for academic dishonesty. Students’ evaluations should be conducted fairly using established criteria, and teachers should face consequences for their own acts as well.
Several scholarly publications, including Gay’s Ph.D. dissertations, have been accused of plagiarism, and Harvard is now dealing with these charges.
Foxx requested the following documents and communications in her letter:
All records pertaining to the initial plagiarism accusations and the ‘independent review’ of President Claudine Gay’s scholarship are to be produced.
All records pertaining to President Gay’s plagiarism accusations and the University’s public reply to media inquiries regarding these accusations are to be produced.
She also asked how the school deals with instances of plagiarism and ensures that students follow all academic policies.
Reports show Dr. Carol Swain, a political science professor and former Vanderbilt University alum, accused Gay of plagiarizing parts of her 1997 essay and 1993 book.
Swain wrote on Thursday on X, urging Harvard to fire Claudine Gay immediately. Answering a follower’s query on whether she intended to sue Gay, she elaborated that she was considering her options.
Reports show that in a previous hearing before the House Education and Workforce Committee, Gay had avoided questions on antisemitism on university campuses, which had previously brought her under criticism. She took heat for not providing a satisfactory response to the question of whether or not students who advocate for the extermination of Jews need to face the consequences.
