Dive Brief:
- The executive director of the agency that oversees higher education in Nevada is accused of plagiarizing a confidential think tank draft report in applying for a competitive grant.
- Frank Woodbeck of the College Collaborative with the Nevada System of Higher Education denies that his word-for-word copying without permission of large sections from the draft, which was shared with him with a “do not circulate” label, is plagiarism, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
- Robert Lang, director of Brookings Mountain West, which published the report, says he was shocked by Woodbeck’s actions, and that his group spent $200,000 on its report.
Dive Insight:
The Nevada System of Higher Education’s chancellor, Dan Klaich, supports Woodbeck’s claim that the copying wasn’t plagiarism. Although Woodbeck did not initially credit the Brookings report, he later added an asterisk notation that it was “based in part” on a study provided by Brookings, even though the word-for-word copying remained. The Brookings report in question was written to seek funding to improve the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math industries. Woodbeck copied the report in his presentation to a state legislative committee. While the Brookings report recommends spending $5 million, administered by local development agencies, Woodbeck’s agency is seeking $3.5 million, managed by a council with representatives from the higher ed agency and other agencies.