In a recent complaint, it has been alleged that two DEI deans hired by MIT in 2021 during the aftermath of the George Floyd protests and the broader racial reckoning in the country, particularly within higher education institutions, plagiarized significant portions of their dissertations.
The report published today by Aaron Sibarium of The Free Beacon outlines the scale of the purported serial plagiarism carried out by Tracie Jones-Barrett and Alana Anderson, who were among the deans of diversity, equity, and inclusion recruited by the Boston institution in June 2021.
A 71-page complaint was submitted to the university, highlighting numerous pages, excerpts, and concepts that each woman allegedly copied from other scholars for their respective dissertations.
Anderson, currently employed as the inclusion and belonging program manager at Boston Beer Company, previously served as the assistant dean of DEI at the MIT computer science college. Before her role at MIT, she held a similar position at Boston University.
In 2017, she earned her PhD from Boston College after completing her dissertation titled ‘#BLACKONCAMPUS: Critical Examination of Racial and Gender Performances of Black College Women on Social Media.’
As per the complaint and The Free Beacon’s coverage, Anderson is accused of copying over a full page of the work of Mark Chae, a counseling professor at Pillar College who was not officially cited in her thesis.
Chae expressed to The Free Beacon his desire for acknowledgment in Anderson’s work, given her apparent use of his content.
‘Anderson appears comfortable claiming credit for significant portions of another author’s academic work,’ he stated in an email to the publication.
Furthermore, Anderson is alleged to have taken language from Jarvis Givens, a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education, which, as per The Beacon, appears to breach MIT’s strict policies on plagiarism.
Sibarium also asserts that sections of Anderson’s acknowledgements segment seem to be plagiarized, with the addition of several typos by Anderson herself.
The complaint filed with MIT, Boston College, and Northeastern University alleges that Anderson plagiarized uncredited sections from various authors, as detailed in the submission. None of the academic institutions provided a statement when approached for comment.
Jones-Barrett obtained her Ed.D in higher education last spring after completing her dissertation titled ‘Cite a sista: how Black women at Ivy League graduate schools of education make meaning of thriving.’
Ironically, in this academic work, she is accused of taking an entire section on ‘ethical considerations’ from a classmate at Northeastern.
Emmitt Wyche III, who presented the thesis ‘Boyz in the Hoods: (Re) Defining the Narratives of Black Male Doctoral Degree Completers’ in 2020, reportedly had paragraphs from his dissertation lifted by Jones-Barrett without proper citation in her bibliography.
The complaint highlights over 10 pages of uncredited content in the DEI deans’ theses, along with numerous paragraphs and sentences scattered throughout their work.
The allegations against Anderson and Jones-Barrett come about six months after Harvard University President Claudine Gay faced accusations of plagiarizing parts of her academic work.
Sibarium highlights that following Gay’s removal, Jones-Barrett and Anderson join a growing list of DEI officers at universities nationwide who have been accused of plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct.
Few institutions where the accused academics are employed have taken disciplinary actions against them.
Recently, MIT announced the decision to no longer require diversity statements from faculty candidates. Additionally, the prestigious institution, known for its focus on math and science, has taken the lead in reintroducing mandatory standardized test score submissions for applicants.
Recently, MIT declared that the requirement for a diversity statement will no longer be included in applications for any faculty roles at the university.
This change was announced by President Sally Kornbluth, with backing from the academic deans, as well as the Provost and the Chancellor.
However, some universities, including MIT, appear to be stepping back from their strong emphasis on DEI principles.
Although Anderson, who operates her own ‘science-based’ DEI consulting firm, is no longer employed at MIT, Jones-Barrett presently holds the position of Deputy Institute Community and Equity Officer at the institution.
‘My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here,’ said Kornbluth.
‘We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.’
