Two DEI deans hired by MIT in wake of 2020 racial reckoning are serial plagiarists who passed off huge chunks of other academics' work as their own, lawsuit alleges

According to a recently filed complaint, two DEI deans hired by MIT in 2021, in the wake George Floyd summer and a wider racial reckoning across the country and especially at institutions of higher learning, plagiarized significant portions of their dissertations.

A report out today by The Free Beacon's Aaron Sibarium details the extent of the alleged serial plagiarism committed by Tracie Jones-Barrett and Alana Anderson, two women who were hired with a handful of other deans of diversity, equity, and inclusion by the Boston institution in June 2021.

On Saturday, a 71-page complaint made its way to the university, which points out the plethora of pages, passages and ideas that each woman allegedly stole from fellow academics for their respective dissertations.

In the post-George Floyd social and academic climate, MIT hired at least six DEI deans, one for each of the university's main colleges

Two June 2021 DEI hires at MIT have been accused of plagiarizing a significant number of passages from their respective graduate theses

Anderson, who is currently working as the inclusion and belonging program manager for Boston Beer Company, formerly served as the MIT computer science college's assistant dean of DEI. Prior to that post, she held a similar position at Boston University.

In 2017, she received her PhD from Boston College upon the completion of her dissertation, '#BLACKONCAMPUS: A Critical Examination of Racial and Gender Performances of Black College Women on Social Media.'

According to the complaint and The Free Beacon's reporting of it, Anderson allegedly copied more than a full page of the work of Mark Chae - a Pillar College counseling professor who did not earn an official citation in the thesis - into her thesis.

Chae told The Free Beacon he might have liked to receive a citation in Anderson's work, given her apparent comfort using his.

'Anderson seems quite comfortable in taking credit for large portions of another writer's scholarly work,' he told the outlet via email.

Anderson additionally appears to have stolen words from Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Jarvis Givens, which, according to the Beacon, seems to violate MIT's explicit ruled regarding plagiarism.

Sibarium further claims that even parts of Anderson's acknowledgements section appear to be plagiarized, with the original insertion of several typos of her own.

Anderson allegedly lifted uncredited passages from several other authors, all of which are highlighted in the complaint that was submitted to MIT, Boston College, and Northeastern University - where Jones-Barrett received her Doctorate of Education.

None of the academic institutions issued a statement upon being contacted for comment. 

Alana Anderson, who received a PhD from Boston College, is accused of plagiarizing significant passages from several academics, including Mark Chae, a Pillar College counseling professor 

She is additionally accused of copying a portion of Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Jarvis Givens' work into her own thesis

Jones-Barrett received her Ed.D in higher education last spring after submitting her dissertation, 'Cite a sista: how Black women at Ivy League graduate schools of education make meaning of thriving.'

In the scholarly work, she allegedly stole, ironically, a whole section on 'ethical considerations' from one of her classmates at Northeastern.

Emmitt Wyche III, who, in 2020, submitted the thesis: 'Boyz in the Hoods: (Re) Defining the Narratives of Black Male Doctoral Degree Completers,' had paragraphs of his dissertation allegedly lifted by Jones-Barrett, who used his words without any sort of citation in her bibliography.

More than 10 pages of lifted, uncited content appeared in the DEI deans' theses, plus a large handful of paragraphs and sentenced peppered across their pages, according to the complaint.

The accusations against Anderson and Jones-Barrett arrive some six months after now-ousted Harvard University President Claudine Gay was accused of plagiarizing portions of her academic work.

Sibarium points out that after Gay's ousting, Jones-Barrett and Anderson are the latest additions to a growing list of names of DEI officers at universities across the nation who've been accused of plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty.

Hardly any institutions where the accused academics work and practice have announced disciplinary measures against the alleged cheats.

But, some schools, including MIT seem to be backing off their near-religious commitment to DEI principles.

Earlier this month, MIT announced it would no longer be asking for diversity statements as a requirement from faculty candidates.

The elite math and science-focused institution has also led the charge to reinstitute mandatory standardized test score submissions from applicants.

Tracie Jones-Barrett allegedly plagiarized from her own Northeastern University classmate Emmitt Wyche III, who, in 2020, submitted the thesis: 'Boyz in the Hoods: (Re) Defining the Narratives of Black Male Doctoral Degree Completers'

Jones-Barrett received her Ed.D in higher education last spring after submitting her dissertation, 'Cite a sista : how Black women at Ivy League graduate schools of education make meaning of thriving'

Scott Fitzsimmons, another Northeastern graduate student, also appears to have been a victim of Jones-Barrett's alleged academic dishonesty. A basic chapter overview was allegedly poached from his work and inserted right into JB's without citation

While Anderson, who also runs her own 'science-based' DEI consultant organization, no longer works for MIT, Jones-Barrett currently serves as the school's Deputy Institute Community and Equity Officer.

Last week, MIT announced that 'requests for a statement on diversity will no longer be part of applications for any faculty positions at MIT,' noting the decision had been made by President Sally Kornbluth, with the support of the academic deans, as well as the Provost and the Chancellor.

'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.'