From the issue dated December 17, 2004

http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i17/17a01901.htm

How Long a Shadow Should Plagiarism Cast?

By DAVID GLENN

When scholars have been found guilty of plagiarism, how long should they have to wear the scarlet P? If they have been disciplined (or denied tenure) for the transgressions, but the incidents haven't been widely publicized, should potential employers be alerted? When Gallaudet University's history department hired Benson Tong as an assistant professor this year, the hiring committee never learned that in 2003, the American Historical Association formally found that he had plagiarized the work of another scholar.

Most people argue that a person shouldn't be haunted for a lifetime by a verdict of plagiarism, especially if the incident was less than egregious. Some also warn, however, that the emerging legal doctrine of "negligent referencing" -- in which an employer sues a worker's previous employer for failing to disclose his or her blemishes in a job reference -- means that colleges should actively inform interested parties about previous incidents of plagiarism.

"One can look at these cases in a couple of different ways," says Michael C. Loui, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who once served as the campus research-integrity officer. "You can be alarmed that a person's earlier transgression was not brought to the attention of a prospective new employer. On the other hand, you can say, We need to have a spirit of forgiveness, and this person has already paid a certain consequence, ... and given that this person has undergone that sanction, we need to decide when it is appropriate to start again."

Hiring institutions should consider taking steps to vet candidates more aggressively, suggests Ann H. Franke, vice president for education and risk management at United Educators Insurance. "A lot of schools don't use a written employment application for faculty hiring," she says. "But that can be another way for the hiring institution to ask some of these hard questions: Have you ever been accused of plagiarism? Have you ever been convicted of a felony? ... Putting that burden on the candidate is something that institutions could do more of these days."

http://chronicle.com
Section: Special Report
Volume 51, Issue 17, Page A17

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