SIU has fostered the "inadvertent" plagiarism trend

Apart from the issues surrounding the soft treatment of the plagiarism of President Glen Poshard, SIU's more enduring contribution to academe may be the legitimizing of the concept of inadvertent plagiarism.

In the egregious case of plagiarism in New Jersey by Phillipsburg High School Principal Mary Jane Deutsch, plagiarist Deutsch is now retreating into the safety net of inadvertent plagiarism thoughtfully created by the Trevino committee at SIU. The Express-Times noted:

Deutsch, who did not cite the author in her column, apologized Thursday for the mistake she said was completely inadvertent.

(...)

Failing to properly cite Murrah in the newsletter was a careless oversight, and she won't make a similar mistake again, she said. While she accepts responsibility for that, she said she's "really not sure" if it falls under the category of plagiarism, stressing she wasn't trying to take credit for the work.

"I'm certainly not denying it could be (plagiarism)," she said.

IPBiz notes that the Deutsch defense is basically a copy of the Poshard defense.

See also Principal plagiarism report gets people talking which contains the text:

Mary Jane Deutsch first denied she plagiarized the essay about the virtues of modesty, then apologized for a mistake she called inadvertent.

Southern Illinois University truly ought to be ashamed for setting guidelines for new lows in ethics.

See also:

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/10/poshard-unintentional-plagiarism.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/11/daily-iowan-soft-on-plagiarists.html

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/10/page-54-of-poshard-phd-thesis-real.html

HOWEVER, for a different case with different facts, see
Journalism prof refutes plagiarism charge with the text:

"Certainly, if what I did is plagiarism, it was unintentional and could, at the most, be considered technical, not unethical," Merrill said.

Merrill's column was dropped by the Missourian after the Maneater accused him of plagiarism in a piece he wrote Nov. 4.

He is a professor emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Journalism where he taught from 1964-80.