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SIUE students speak out on Poshard

BY SCOTT FITZGERALD, the southern

Friday, September 21, 2007 1:22 AM CDT

EDWARDSVILLE - Plagiarism allegations surrounding Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard again became the focal point during the SIU Board of Trustees' regular board meeting on Thursday.

SIU Edwardsville history and political science major Ryan Watson and student government president Laurie Estilette read prepared statements during the public comments and questions segment that neither endorsed nor diced the president, but instead, expressed attitudes of concern.

"We the students believe that President Poshard should receive a fair hearing and that the appropriate action should be taken if he is found guilty of plagiarizing his dissertation paper. We believe the policies concerning plagiarism and academic integrity should apply to everybody no matter who they are," Watson read from a prepared statement.

Likewise Estilette read from a prepared statement that, "We are deeply concerned with the accusation of plagiarism, as academic integrity is a cornerstone of our community."

Allegations of plagiarism arose in late August from an anonymous group that Poshard had lifted written material from other sources and did not attribute properly parts of his 1984 doctoral dissertation. A few weeks later, The Chronicle of Education found a similar lack of proper attribution in Poshard's 1975 master's thesis he submitted while a SIUC student.

A review committee, whose members were selected by three major faculty groups at SIUC a week ago, is currently reviewing the allegations and Poshard's works and is expected to turn in their findings and recommendations to SIUC Chancellor Fernando Treviño and the SIU Board of Trustees before the end of the month.

The findings of another committee that formed about a year ago at Poshard's urging when former Chancellor Walter Wendler was suspected for plagiarizing SIUC's long-range plan, released their findings this week that center on a suitable definition of what plagiarism is. Their findings can be read on The Southern Illinoisan Web site.

Trevino said during the past eight years, two allegations of plagiarism arose concerning student papers and the cases were resolved through informal resolutions.

"We do have precedents," Treviño said.

During a news conference after the meeting, board president Roger Tedrick declined to answer questions regarding Poshard's allegations.

He did read a prepared statement that was the third board endorsement for Poshard.

Tedrick's statement included Poshard's recent accomplishments, such as lobbying for a capital projects budget that passed through the Illinois Senate this week and earmarks more than $145 million for new construction projects at all three SIU campuses.

And the statement mentioned the president's work in helping increase on-campus enrollment this fall.

"We have seen a very positive shift in the enrollment trends on the Carbondale campus, and this is, in no small measure, the result of his (Poshard's) dedication to addressing the issues of recruitment and retention," Tedrick said.

When asked during the news conference how he was holding up amidst the controversy, Poshard said he was staying "totally focused on my work."

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com / 351-5076