Gay and Oxman should be stripped of their Doctorates: The discussion around the plagiarism of Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman is surprising. There is a defence for Neri Oxman based on the argument that the circumstances are different in her case. After holding a tenured faculty position at MIT, Oxman is no longer in academia whereas Claudine…
Gay and Oxman should be stripped of their Doctorates: The discussion around the plagiarism of Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman is surprising. There is a defence for Neri Oxman based on the argument that the circumstances are different in her case. After holding a tenured faculty position at MIT, Oxman is no longer in academia whereas Claudine Gay was recently the President of Harvard and currently still holds a tenured faculty position. On the other side, there is criticism of Ackman’s hypocrisy because of his attack on Claudine Gay, while defending the allegations of his wife’s plagiarism.
Both people’s dissertations contain evidence of plagiarism. To be clear the dissertation is a necessary and a final step in acquiring one’s PhD. It needs to be original work and follow the requirements of all academic papers, i.e. it cannot contain any elements of plagiarism. Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman did not and continue to not meet this fundamental requirement.
Their failure is not free of consequences, nor is it devoid of injury or harm. They were offered positions for which they did not meet the fundamental requirements. They have done this to the detriment of qualified candidates. This has occurred of over a course of time when tenured faculty have been replaced with contingent positions. “Over two-thirds (68 percent) of faculty members in US colleges and universities held contingent appointments in fall 2021, compared with about 47 percent in fall 1987.” (American Association of University Professors, 2023).
One may ask, why does it matter since Neri Oxman is no longer in academia? Neri Oxman graduated in 2010, and became a professor in 2010, and received a tenured faculty position in 2017. According to the data, this period saw a large number of graduates who could not get professorship positions, were not on tenure track, and did not receive tenured positions. Claudine Gay received her PhD in 1998, became an assistant professor, and then tenured after from 2000. Through this period, there was a strong increase in the decline of tenured faculty positions.
At a time when contingent faculty dominate academia, legitimate applicants for the small number of tenure positions were denied the opportunity by Gay and Oxman.
Gay and Oxman should be stripped of their Doctorates: The discussion around the plagiarism of Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman is surprising. There is a defence for Neri Oxman based on the argument that the circumstances are different in her case. After holding a tenured faculty position at MIT, Oxman is no longer in academia whereas Claudine Gay was recently the President of Harvard and currently still holds a tenured faculty position. On the other side, there is criticism of Ackman’s hypocrisy because of his attack on Claudine Gay, while defending the allegations of his wife’s plagiarism.
Both people’s dissertations contain evidence of plagiarism. To be clear the dissertation is a necessary and a final step in acquiring one’s PhD. It needs to be original work and follow the requirements of all academic papers, i.e. it cannot contain any elements of plagiarism. Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman did not and continue to not meet this fundamental requirement.
Their failure is not free of consequences, nor is it devoid of injury or harm. They were offered positions for which they did not meet the fundamental requirements. They have done this to the detriment of qualified candidates. This has occurred of over a course of time when tenured faculty have been replaced with contingent positions. “Over two-thirds (68 percent) of faculty members in US colleges and universities held contingent appointments in fall 2021, compared with about 47 percent in fall 1987.” (American Association of University Professors, 2023).
One may ask, why does it matter since Neri Oxman is no longer in academia? Neri Oxman graduated in 2010, and became a professor in 2010, and received a tenured faculty position in 2017. According to the data, this period saw a large number of graduates who could not get professorship positions, were not on tenure track, and did not receive tenured positions. Claudine Gay received her PhD in 1998, became an assistant professor, and then tenured after from 2000. Through this period, there was a strong increase in the decline of tenured faculty positions.
At a time when contingent faculty dominate academia, legitimate applicants for the small number of tenure positions were denied the opportunity by Gay and Oxman.
Tamara Pravica, PhD