Official MIT employment records or public announcement

MIT Faces 2021 DEI Deans Plagiarism Lawsuit

May 14, 2024, 03:23 PM

MIT is facing allegations that two of the six Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) deans it hired in 2021 are serial plagiarists. One of the accused, Tracie Jones-Barrett, allegedly copied an entire section on 'ethical considerations' from a classmate in her Ph.D. program. Her dissertation, titled 'Cite A Sista,' is at the center of these allegations. The hires were part of MIT's response to the 2020 racial reckoning. These allegations have been formalized in a lawsuit.