Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Ohio University Gets Away With Deception

Last month a judge ruled in favor of Ohio University in the defamation case filed by Dr. Mehta (one of the professors scapegoated for allowing plagiarism). Someone wrote an editorial in response to the judge's decision which implies that Ohio University is now trying to hold all professors accountable for plagiarism.

I have first hand experience that that is not the case. Last March, I wrote a letter to Dean Dennis Irwin requesting that the 4 professors who approved one of the worst cases of plagiarism I have seen be held accountable. I enclosed with the letter over 30 pages from the thesis with the plagiarism highlighted. This is undoubtedly one of the worst cases of plagiarism that I have seen, and it ranks right up there with the worst that Dr. Mehta approved. By the way, it is an Electrical Engineering thesis.

Much to my dismay and inconsistent with public perception, I received a letter from Ohio University's Legal Director, John Biancamano, indicating that the professors will not be held accountable.

Whoever wrote the editorial for the Dispatch was either duped by Ohio University or it is someone who wants to further mislead the public.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow! The plagiarism you’ve shown in this blog is just astonishing, Mr. Matrka! And you found at “least 30 pages of the 72 page thesis” is plagiarized! Over 40% plagiarized! Outrageous!

Please keep posting more examples like this. And the colorfully highlighted one you’ve provided here is especially helpful. It’s almost like a picture (worth a thousand words) that enabled me to see what is really going on almost without having to actually read it (let alone understand it).

You are the only one actually showing what the plagiarism at OU really looks like, i.e., just how extensive, willful and shameful the plagiarists’ copying actually is (rather than obscuring it as some abstract academic concept as OU has by not describing any of it in any detail). It reminds me of that Nightline TV broadcast you were in a few years ago where some stunning images of actual OU plagiarism were shown and you and the reporter even reciting some of it together in unison!

That Nightline story was so powerful that I suggest you ask ABC News for permission to post it on your blog. That and more examples like the ones you’re providing here and elsewhere on your blog shows just how awful OU’s plagiarism problem really is. And maybe (hopefully) more examples like these will encourage more bystanders (like me) that have been reading your blog to speak up (see the comment about apathy by Professor X in your other September 30 blog entry “Ohio University Plagiarism is not Limited to Mechanical Engineering”).

Keep up the good work, your blog is important and fascinating.