Ambrose faces more charges of plagiarism

Professors are worried Stephen Ambrose's actions may undermine academic integrity.

by Dina Ackermann and Dina Ackerman | Tuesday, January 8, 2002 at (All day)

Printable Version

Stephen Ambrose, the well- known historian who recently
admitted using wording similar to that in passages of Penn
History Professor Thomas Childers' Wings of Morning in his Wild
Blue, has been accused of borrowing passages from the late Jay
Monaghan's Custer: The Life of General George Armstrong
Custer.

Forbes magazine is reporting that in his 1975 book Crazy Horse
and Custer, Ambrose used similar phrases to those written in
Monaghan's 1959 work. The new accusation comes just one day
after the publication of a Weekly Standard article in which Ambrose
is accused of plagiarizing Childers' work.

Ambrose has admitted to using wording and passages in his
latest book, The Wild Blue, that are at points nearly identical to
Wings of Morning, a historical book written by Childers in 1995
about his uncle's experience on a B-24 bomber crew during World
War II.

In both books under question, Ambrose reportedly cited and
credited the writers he has been accused of copying, but did not
place quotation marks around the passages in question.

For Penn history professors who have included Ambrose on
assigned reading lists for their classes in the past, the controversy
presents a dilemma of whether the famed historian should remain
on the syllabus for future semesters. And some see a paradox in
putting Ambrose on a pedestal for students to learn from and, at
the same time, instructing students not to plagiarize.

"This underscores our concern for academic integrity," History
professor Bruce Kuklick said. "Poor Mr. Ambrose is not going to
live this down for a while."

History Professor Alan Kors teaches from primary sources in his
classes that focus on the 17th and 18th centuries. Ambrose, who
concentrates on the 20th century and is best know for his books
on World War II, is not on Kors' syllabus.

But Kors does not hesitate to say that if Ambrose were on the
syllabus, he would definitely remove the works from the list.

"I would be ashamed to have my students read, at my
recommendation, someone whose work involves plagiarism,"
Kors said. "For me, a lack of integrity in that area would cast doubt
on the standards he had applied in the rest of his work."

Childers -- who has books by Ambrose on his course syllabus for
the semester -- said in an interview Sunday night, however, that he
will continue to use Ambrose in his History 431 class entitled "A
World at War."

Some professors have been left wondering if Ambrose's
punishment will be severe enough. The historian apologized on
Saturday, saying he "made a mistake" and promised to correctly
cite the questionable passages in future editions of The Wild
Blue.

But some say that such an apology will not suffice in the
academic world.

"If a student did that, I'm not sure if the professor would let the
student just apologize and have that be enough," said Donald
McCabe, a Rutgers University professor and founder of the Center
for Academic Integrity at Duke University.

McCabe added that Ambrose's actions will only help students
rationalize dishonest behavior in the future.

"It's another opportunity for students to say, 'What's the big deal,'"
McCabe said. "They'll say, 'If he can do it and you're going to let
him get away with it, why can't I?'"

Penn professors hope Ambrose's mistake will serve as a catalyst
for increased discussion on plagiarism on college campuses
across the country.

"There needs to be a lot more communication on this issue
between professors and students," Kors said. "Faculty need to
communicate clearly to students the rules of the game."

Kors added that the availability of papers online presents a newer
and more serious problem.

"It goes well beyond plagiarism in the traditional sense into
outright fraud," he said.

"We all know plagiarism is rampant at Penn," Kuklick added.
"Students who get away with it think that the professors look the
other way, and as a group, we do, but we shouldn't."

Wharton junior Dennis Tupper, co-chairman of the University
Honor Council -- the organization that deals with academic
integrity at Penn -- says he is not sure how the council will respond
to the heightened awareness of plagiarism. But he said students
can learn from Ambrose's questionable ethics and advised "when
in doubt, put it in quotes."

"Everyone in the academic community must be diligent in
certifying one's work when it is put as one's own," Tupper said.

"What Ambrose did happens with some frequency at Penn and on
other college campuses," he added. "Students need to remember
integrity is their only asset. You need to keep that in check."

Please login or register to post a comment.