In May, University administrators dropped a bombshell that shook the academic core of the University — and the UNC community is still feeling the aftershocks.
When a University report released in May revealed a slew of academic irregularities in the University’s Department of African and Afro-American Studies, one of the largest academic scandals in UNC’s history began to unfold.
UNC began its investigation into the department in September 2011, following the discovery that a paper by former defensive end Michael McAdoo had been plagiarized, and the plagiarism had not been detected by the honor system.
The report showed evidence of fraudulent classes that were taught irregularly, evidence of forgery and unauthorized grade changes.
The improper teaching practices occurred primarily between the summers of 2007 and 2009. UNC laid blame on then-department chairman Julius Nyang’oro and administrator Deborah Crowder.
A few weeks after the report’s release, the State Bureau of Investigation was asked to conduct its own probe by Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall.
Suspicion about when the fraud began and who was responsible has been swirling around UNC community members ever since.
Jay Smith, a history professor at the forefront of the faculty effort to reform athletics, said in August that it was dividing the faculty.
“How in the world did such a system fly under the radar?” he said.
Months after the report circulated, the University announced a comprehensive effort to answer the questions in August, announcing an outside review led by former Gov. Jim Martin and consulting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLC.
