The first allegation from The Daily Wire that Dr. Pines copied large parts of the content from another academic paper published in 1996 raised concerns about academic integrity among university leaders in the US.

Specifically, the controversy began when the Daily Wire published an article accusing Dr. Darryll J. Pines of copying a large part of the content of a research paper he co-authored in 2002, along with Liming Salvino, a former program officer of the US Office of Naval Research.

The article compared the language used in the two authors' paper with a 1996 paper by Joshua Altmann, then a university student in Australia. About one-third of the paper, which dealt with technical aspects of aerospace engineering, was copied verbatim or almost verbatim from Joshua Altmann's earlier work without proper citation.

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University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines speaks during an interview. Photo: The Washington Post.

The allegation has prompted an internal investigation by the University of Maryland. Dr. Joshua Altmann, the original author of the allegedly plagiarized paper, has not publicly commented on the matter. Likewise, Dr. Liming Salvino, co-author with the Maryland president, has not responded.

In response to the allegations, Dr. Pines sent a letter to the University of Maryland community, acknowledging the similarities in language between the papers, but firmly denying the plagiarism allegations.

“I have always prided myself on producing high-quality scientific work over nearly four decades, including submitting numerous peer-reviewed studies to scholarly journals,” he wrote. “While I maintain that our results, data, and findings are sound, I acknowledge that there is some repetition in language in some sections. Nevertheless, I believe that the allegations of plagiarism are without merit,” according to the Washington Post .

He asked the school to investigate the incident “objectively” to address concerns transparently, and said it was willing to cooperate.

Dr Pines also stressed that the investigation into him is part of a wider trend where many prominent black academics, especially those involved in diversity and equity initiatives, are becoming targets of attacks.

“Like many others, I have faced investigation and attack, both personally and professionally, for a variety of reasons, including questions about the decisions and values ​​I represent,” Dr. Pines shared in a letter to the University of Maryland community.

Intentional "academic attack"?

Dr. Pines has been president of the University of Maryland since 2020. The report from The Daily Wire has sparked controversy, especially since plagiarism is considered one of the most serious offenses in academia.

These allegations not only threaten to tarnish Principal Pines' reputation, but could also seriously damage his entire career and the research he has worked so hard to build.

The plagiarism allegations against Dr. Pines are not an isolated incident. Over the past year, a wave of similar allegations have emerged against prominent scholars and school leaders.

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The University of Maryland is ranked 17th among the best public universities in the US in 2024-2025, according to US News & World Report. Photo: Umd.edu

Notably, former Harvard University president Claudine Gay resigned in early 2024 after facing anonymous plagiarism allegations, although she maintained her innocence throughout the investigation.

Jonathan Bailey, a plagiarism expert and founder of Plagiarism Today, said the allegations against Dr. Pines were “serious.” However, he also stressed that plagiarism is often repetitive and that if Dr. Pines had intended to plagiarize, there would have been similar instances in his other works.

The paper under review is one of more than 250 studies that Dr. Pines has authored. The lack of other plagiarism allegations in such a large body of work may indicate that this incident may be an isolated case rather than a pattern of regular violations.

Dr. Pines is not the first black scholar to face plagiarism allegations in recent months. Several black scholars at institutions including Harvard, Columbia and Wisconsin-Madison have also been targeted.

In early 2024, Robin DiAngelo, a sociologist and author of White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, faced plagiarism allegations related to a 2004 dissertation she wrote.

However, the University of Washington has denied these allegations, saying there is insufficient evidence to prove them.

Norway's Education Minister Resigns Over Plagiarism Scandal Sandra Borch has resigned as Norway's Minister of Higher Education and Research after it was discovered that her master's thesis contained passages copied from someone else's.