Latest on the Southern Illinois Plagiarism Cases

I have already noted the various plagiarism controversies at Southern Illinois University . The case is perhaps most noticeable for the double standards applied to Chris Dussold, an instructor who copied a colleague's teaching philosophy statement, and the University president Glenn [Glendal on the dissertation] Poshard who has been accused of plagiarising his 1984 Ph D dissertation on the education of gifted children in Illinois.

Dussold was sacked but Poshard had asked the department that awarded the degree to review the dissertation and indicate any changes that needed to be made. The department, very much to its credit, has declined to do so.

"Under attack for allegedly plagiarizing parts of his 1984 thesis, Poshard last week asked the university's department of higher education and administration, which awarded his PhD, to review the work and recommend action. As president, Poshard now oversees that department.

"The department has concluded that a committee with broader academic representation would be more appropriate for this review," SIU spokesman Dave Gross said in a statement, noting that the decision leaves the review process unresolved."

I would like to suggest that Southern Illinois adopt the policy that I believe, with variations, is used in many universities for undergraduate writing. First case of plagiarism -- write the paper again on another topic. Second case, zero for the course. Third time out.

So Dussold should write his teaching philosophy statement again and Poshard can write another dissertation. It shouldn't take very long. At 111 pages including a lot of tables and, in the first quarter at least, a lot of white space it is not exactly The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Perhaps he could write about something like Promoting Academic Honesty in a Public University.