Harvard chief DEI officer accused of 40 counts of plagiarism, including lifting from her own husband: report

Ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay wasn't the only administrator accused of plagiarism

Historian who uncovered Claudine Gay's alleged plagiarism speaks out: 'We found a pattern'

American Institute for Economic Research's Phillip Magness speaks out after collaborating with Christopher Rufo to uncover ex-Harvard president's '50 instances of plagiarism' on 'America Reports.' 

An anonymous letter reportedly sent to Harvard University this week alleges that the school’s DEI head committed multiple instances of plagiarism throughout her academic career, even plagiarizing from one of her husband’s academic works.

The letter, sent anonymously to Harvard, the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin-Madison, alleged that chief diversity and inclusion officer Sherri Ann Charleston committed 40 instances of plagiarism over the years, according to the Washington Free Beacon. 

The Free Beacon first reported on the complaint, describing the details of how Charleston allegedly committed these counts of plagiarism, including not properly attributing sources or quotes almost a dozen times in her 2009 dissertation at Michigan.

HARVARD ANNOUNCES ANTISEMITISM, ISLAMOPHOBIA TASK FORCES AMID ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Harvard and pro-DEI protester

An anonymous letter accused Harvard's chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer of committing 40 counts of plagiarism throughout her career. (Boston Globe/Contributor 2. Michael M. Santiago/Staff)

The Free Beacon added, "And in her sole peer-reviewed journal article — coauthored with her husband, LaVar Charleston, in 2014—the couple recycle much of a 2012 study published by LaVar Charleston, the deputy vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, framing the old material as new research."

The complaint noted that this article was also co-authored by Jerlando Jackson, who is currently the dean of Michigan State University’s College of Education. Apparently, it "has the same methods, findings, and description of survey subjects as the 2012 study, which involved interviews with black computer science students," the outlet wrote.

The Free Beacon’s investigative report provided text from both papers showing just how similar they were, with images showing major chunks of Charleston’s work practically ripped from her husband’s study. 

CRITICS CHEER RESIGNATION OF 'ANTISEMITIC PLAGIARIST' HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY: 'BYE FELICIA'

Harvard University

In 2014, Harvard's chief diversity and inclusion officer Sherri Ann Charleston allegedly plagiarized a paper her husband wrote two years prior. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

"The two papers even report identical interview responses," the outlet added, which is one of the most problematic findings as it suggests that the co-authors did not conduct new interviews for the 2014 paper. 

The Free Beacon noted that is "a severe breach of research ethics, according to experts who reviewed the allegations."

These experts told the outlet that Charleston, who used to teach gender studies courses at the University of Wisconsin, committed a "wide range of plagiaristic offenses, from minor plagiarism to possible data fraud and warrant an investigation."

Some even argued that Charleston committed a worse "scholarly sin" than former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who recently resigned from her role after she was accused of committing multiple counts of plagiarism throughout her own career and being at the center of the school’s recent antisemitism scandal. 

Claudine Gay AI

Claudine Gay faced dozens of plagiarism allegations against her prior to her resignation. (Getty Images)

Neither Harvard University nor the school’s Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging replied to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. 

Authored by Gabriel Hays via FoxNews January 30th 2024