An ASU professor who has been the recent subject of a whirlwind of plagiarism accusations has been demoted after the claims were substantiated.
Matthew Whitaker, a history professor at ASU and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, was demoted on June 26 after it was revealed that portions of his book, “Peace Be Still: Modern Black America from World War II to Barack Obama,” were plagiarized from various publications including Wikipedia.
ASU said in a statement, “The University took appropriate steps to address (Whitaker’s) lapses after they were brought to the attention of the appropriate faculty leaders, ordering a review of the work in question and, ultimately, reducing Dr. Whittaker’s rank, pay and role as a director of a university center.”
This demotion will cost Whitaker $20,000 a year according to an article published by the Arizona Republic.
According to a letter written by Associate Vice President of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise and Development (OKED) William T. Petuskey to Senior Vice President of OKED professor Sethuraman Panchanathan, the accusations were substantiated after an inquiry was filed by the Provost’s office, specifically requested by Vice Provost Barry Ritchie, and the work was investigated.
The request for investigation was a result of accusations made by a blogger.
The work was investigated by Associate Director of the Center for Biology and Society Karin Ellison and Townsend Martin Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University Keith Wailoo.
The reports by both Ellison and Wailoo cited multiple sections of “Peace Be Still” as being unattributed or poorly paraphrased, plagiarizing from multiple sources. Both reports did, however, lament the nature of the accusations, which were inappropriately public and personally offensive.
Following the investigation, Whitaker admitted to plagiarizing in an apology letter to Petuskey, saying, “I have no excuse for the errors in my book. This history which is near and dear to me and which I have studied since childhood. I was hasty and careless in failing to properly cite and credit all the numerous sources, and my paraphrasing of the work of others was at times inadequate.”
The second time Whitaker has been at the center of plagiarism rumors, he previously passed the accusations off as race-fueled attacks, as reported by the Arizona Republic in 2012.
This time around, Whitaker openly acknowledged his shortcomings and set out to revise his publication with the appropriate modifications.
On July 8, Interim University Provost Mark S. Searle sent an announcement to his colleagues explaining the university’s actions regarding Whitaker after the plagiarism claims were substantiated with an attached apology letter from Whitaker in which Whitaker wrote, “I have been working to make the necessary corrections and to publish a revised and improved version of the text with a statement of apology and admission of error.”
As a university, ASU imposes a strict anti-plagiarism policy on its students.
Searle wrote in an email that students should take from these events that plagiarism is a serious matter for students and faculty alike and that there are real consequences for either. Students can receive a range of discipline for plagiarism, including academic sanctions.
"Dr. Whitaker has received a reduction in both rank and pay, both of which are very serious sanctions for a faculty member," he wrote. "Further, his role at the Center for Race & Democracy was reduced from Director to Co-Director, and he no longer holds a Foundation Professor - a named professorship that is both a point of professional recognition and includes additional compensation in either pay or research funding. ASU holds everyone in the university community, whether seated in the classroom or teaching in it, to the highest standards of academic integrity.”
Reach the reporter at icastil3@asu.edu or follow @isabella_m_cast on twitter
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