UW-Madison's leading DEI scholar accused of decades of research misconduct

MADISON, Wis. (TND) — The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received a complaint alleging its leading diversity officer has a lengthy record of research misconduct, the school told The National Desk (TND) Thursday.

LaVar Charleston serves as the university’s deputy vice chancellor for diversity & inclusion, as well as vice provost, chief diversity officer and the director of the Division of Diversity, Equity, & Educational Achievement. He holds a PhD in philosophy and a Master's in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, both of which he earned at UW.

The anonymous complaint details decades of alleged research misconduct in which Charleston recycled sections of his past scholarship and presented it as new findings, according to the Washington Free Beacon. For example, a section of text from Charleston’s 2010 dissertation on Black computer science students allegedly appears in three other papers in 2012, 2014 and 2022 without attribution to the earlier paper.

The educator's dissertation and other peer-reviewed works also appear to lift sections of text from other scholars in his field without proper attribution, according to the complaint.

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Charleston was recently recognized as “a National Leader in Academic Excellence,” a feat UW touted in a March press release.

“Dr. Charleston’s wealth of academic accolades provide insight into why he was chosen for this award,” the school wrote.

When reached for comment, a university spokesperson said it stands by Charleston but will investigate the complaint.

“[Charleston] is a valued member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison leadership team and we continue to support his work,” the spokesperson said. “He is a noted leader on campus and scholar in the education field, with a background in research focused on access and inclusion in STEM. UW–Madison takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously. The university’s Office of Research Policy and Integrity has received the complaint and will follow standard campus policy.”

The complaint against Charleston comes after former Harvard President Claudine Gay found herself entangled in controversy over academic misconduct allegations. The Ivy League scholar became the school’s shortest-tenured leader when she resigned in January. She was accused of plagiarizing portions of her academic works, including her doctoral dissertation.

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