It’s Official: Madonna Constantine Has Been Fired
Oh man, our sanctified academic standards haven't been so betrayed by a member of the ivory tower since Kaavya Viswanathan did that thing that no one cares about anymore.
Madonna Constantine, a tenured professor at Columbia's Teachers College, was just fired for plagiarism. Background (for those of you who haven't been following our pretty extensive coverage): Constantine became infamous last fall after reportedly finding a noose on her office door, but some folks were a tad bit suspicious because her claim emerged in the midst of the university's 18-month investigation of her work. Constantine called out the TC community for stirring up a "conspiracy and witch-hunt" and, always down for a protest, hundreds of Columbia students and faculty rallied in her support. Anthony Kelley defended her in the batshittiest Columbia Spectator column you will ever read. In a nice Orwellian twist, Constantine's attorney said that her accusers, two former students and a former colleague, had plagiarized from her. It now appears that Constantine mooched from the trio in a dozen separate instances.
Ay dios. She dug herself far enough into the histrionic "witch-hunt" hole that no graceful bow-out was possible, and now the whole ridiculous incident is over, unless she decides to challenge the decision before a faculty committee. Fingers crossed.
That's not to say she can't make a comeback from the depths of intellectual disgrace. Here's looking at you, James Frey.
Columbia U. Fires Teachers College Professor Accused of Rampant Plagiarism [Chronicle]
Constantine Will Appeal Sanction [Columbia Spectator]
Students Call For Reform at Teachers College [Columbia Spectator]
Harvard's Viswanathan Celebrates Fake Writer Day [Gawker]
Columbia Professor in Noose Case Is Fired on Plagiarism Charges [New York Times]
Little Pieces of Los Angeles, Done His Way [New York Times]
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June 25th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
You want to talk about a break in the ranks, check out the douchiest professor EVER and his little success-guilt rant in The American Scholar:
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html
Apparently we’re all money-grubbing elitist sheep who only think in numbers, all because the guy couldn’t talk to his plumber. Naturally.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:37 am
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