U of Alberta dean stole speech: med students

[mushi_mushi]

^^ Im sure in the real world some people take credit for other peoples work. Ive had friends who have had people in senior positions take credit for their work, this sort of thing happens. Big companies might care about results and may not put as much emphasis on who did what, but in academia plagiarism is very much frowned upon. What makes it worse is in this case it was the dean of the department of medicine, a person of authority who was responsible with dealing with student plagiarism, you cant exactly have a double standard here.

Whats more disturbing is he actually research different convocation speeches and wasnt able to come up with any words of inspiration/good advice for the members of his faculty. Maybe he's a good person and a good dean put he sure dropped the ball on this one.

[5t3v3]

I would love to see the "OH SHIT" moment he got upon learning the news.

He admitted plagiarism and apologized for it but I doubt it's over. It must be really tough to not step down for this.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmont...-plagiary.html

[J-D]

It might just be a convocation speech, but for someone in an academic chair to plagiarize? Any student would have their balls ripped off for a similar act.

[mushi_mushi]

Originally posted by 5t3v3
I would love to see the "OH SHIT" moment he got upon learning the news.
l[/url]

The thought crossed my mind too....I would have just went with "blood alone moves the wheels of history *bangs desk with closed fists*...etc

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by mushi_mushi


I just graduated from MRU and I disagree. The issue isnt that he used some one else's speech.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Originally posted by Seth1968

Did you read the rest of his post?

[1barA4]

Originally posted by JRSC00LUDE


Did you read the rest of his post?

It's much funnier this way

[Disoblige]

"When I was researching for the speech, I came across text which inspired me and resonated with my experiences," he said. "The personal medical traumas which I detailed were wholly genuine and did indeed engender the sense of inadequacy I highlighted. I also used a medical case of Dr. Gawande’s to further make my point."

Oh shut the fuck up Philip Baker. Trying to make it seem like it wasn't as bad as it was too..

Hate people like this.

[Isaiah]

Beyond the fact that he blatantly plagiarized an entire speech, the plagiarism itself contravenes the purpose of the dean as the chosen orator in the first place. The whole point of the dean's convocation speech is for the head of a particular faculty to inspire the students whom they have presumably led throughout the course of their academic careers.

This loser's actions not only flagrantly mock fundamental institutional rules of academia, they also rob these students of the heartfelt inspiration they earned.

[Superdooper]

I think expelling him would be too harsh of a punishment.

People make mistakes and sh!t happens...i honestly don't think it is as bad as everyone thinks...its just a speech, it is not an academic paper (I would check his academic paper now to make sure his are not plagirized).

To put someones life work of contribution to the field of medicine through countless articles, to the point of becoming the dean of one of the top universities in Canada, down the drain over a speech ... well its just ridiculously silly and unwarranted.

He's earned at least one SILLY mistake in his lifelong career of bettering society and this is just that...silly...not a big deal. Move on.

[ZenOps]

Oh comeon... Its not like it hasn't all be said or thought of before.

He should have ponied up the dough for a professional speechwriter. But who knows? Maybe he did, and the speechwriter just got lazy.

An original speech is a rare thing.

[yipb]

Originally posted by Superdooper
I think expelling him would be too harsh of a punishment.

People make mistakes and sh!t happens...i honestly don't think it is as bad as everyone thinks...its just a speech, it is not an academic paper (I would check his academic paper now to make sure his are not plagirized).

To put someones life work of contribution to the field of medicine through countless articles, to the point of becoming the dean of one of the top universities in Canada, down the drain over a speech ... well its just ridiculously silly and unwarranted.

He's earned at least one SILLY mistake in his lifelong career of bettering society and this is just that...silly...not a big deal. Move on.

students make mistakes too sometimes and if they plagiarize once, expelling them would also be a harsh punishment as well

[Isaiah]

Prof supports dean:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/mobil...tml?id=4948363

Pathetic.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by Superdooper

People make mistakes and sh!t happens

I hate it when people say things like this; he didn't make a "mistake", he purposefully plagiarized a known document and tried to pass it off as his own. No "mistake" about it, the only mistake he made was getting caught

As others have pointed out, plagiarizing others work carries SERIOUS consequences for students, not just a slap on the wrists. If the dean who overlooks those issues doesn't even follow the rules, what is the point of them having that job?

[Guillermo]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Prof supports dean:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/mobil...tml?id=4948363

Pathetic.

i agree, but the guy who said that is a hack - check out his education and publication record: http://www.familymed.med.ualberta.ca...f/cardinal.cfm i don't know how he got the title of Assistant Professor at UofA, because with a CV like that it would be tough to get a job even at a community college. must be working in some kind of outreach program or something.

[Superdooper]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1


I hate it when people say things like this; he didn't make a "mistake", he purposefully plagiarized a known document and tried to pass it off as his own. No "mistake" about it, the only mistake he made was getting caught

As others have pointed out, plagiarizing others work carries SERIOUS consequences for students, not just a slap on the wrists. If the dean who overlooks those issues doesn't even follow the rules, what is the point of them having that job?

Calm down, I'v known a few cases of plagirizing at UofC and MRU and the worst punishment people usually recieve is an F in the course or an F in the paper. I'v also known a few cases where there have been exceptions. ex. this one student who recieved 50% of his rewritten unplagirized paper because he had a great academic record and future potential, up until his slipup.

I understand what you are saying however sometimes you can't just look at the rules and follow them as strictly as some of you suggest, sometimes you have to make exceptions, look at the individual as a whole and my take is that this guy is a pretty accomplished individual and has contributed substantially to society by training future doctors, through articles, ect ect. Taking that away for a plagirized "speech"is stupid, unproductive and a waste of his future knowledge contribution.

[dandia89]

Originally posted by Isaiah
Prof supports dean:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/mobil...tml?id=4948363

Pathetic.

haha good ol kwok

[desto2para]

I'm sure he got punished

here's a email the President and Vice-Chancellor sent me/all the students at the uofa

Over the weekend, the University of Alberta became aware of allegations of plagiarism on the part of one of our academic deans, related to a speech he had delivered to students at a post-graduation celebration. By Sunday, the University had begun the process of examining allegations of plagiarism against Philip Baker, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.
An allegation of plagiarism is not one that is made lightly – nor is it one the University of Alberta takes lightly. Our process will be thorough, fair, and proceed quickly with due diligence, under our established procedures. Academic integrity is at the heart of our institution and we will ensure that our values are upheld.
Sincerely,


Indira V. Samarasekera, O.C.
President and Vice-Chancellor

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by J-D
It might just be a convocation speech, but for someone in an academic chair to plagiarize? Any student would have their balls ripped off for a similar act.

My first year in college we worked in pairs for a project, my partner plagiarized part of it (I didn't pre-read the entire thing before handing in, so I admit it was my fault for that bit... but we essentially split the work, he copy and pasted a portion that said "In this lesson you will learn..." )

Because of that, we both were put on academic suspension (or probation... i forget, it was 10 years ago now ). I tried to plead my case but no luck, teacher just told me too bad, my name was on the paper.

So yeah, this guy doing this, it actually does piss me off quite a bit.

[googe]

What is it with the name Baker and being a dishonest liar?

Maybe he can go to South Deerfoot Suzuki and rip people off with David Baker.