10 High-Profile People Whose Degrees Were Revoked

These notable figures saw their degrees stripped for plagiarism or other crimes.

May 2, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Universities can revoke degrees if they discover cheating or other irregularities.

After a committee determined that WVU had awarded Bresch grades "simply pulled from thin air" for courses she didn't complete, the university president and several high-profile administrators resigned, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bresch is also the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, which was cofounded by Milan Puskar, "WVU's largest benefactor" and the namesake of the university's Milan Puskar Stadium, the paper reported.

4. Evolution of a doctorate: Self-declared "scientist working in paleobiology, astronomy, and various other areas; designer for projects including rockets and nuclear devices ... [and] writer," Charles Pellegrino claimed on his website to hold a doctorate from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand.

After Pellegrino told a New York Times reporter that the university had stripped his degree "because of a dispute over evolutionary theory," the reporter checked back with Victoria administrators. "Pellegrino was never awarded a Ph.D. from Victoria and therefore could not have had it stripped from him or reinstated at a later date," the vice chancellor told the Times.

[Learn how to avoid losing a college admission offer.]

5. Mechanical failure: The former head of acquisitions for the Armaments Corporation of South Africa, Shamim "Chippy" Shaik, was stripped of his Ph.D. from then-University of Natal—now University of KwaZulu-Natal—in 2008 following reports he'd plagiarized "more than two-thirds" of his mechanical engineering doctorate.

6. Athletics antics: Westark Community College, now a part of the University of Arkansas—Fort Smith, revoked former basketball player Jerome Lambert's associate degree when officials learned that an assistant coach at Baylor University gave Lambert a term paper for a Westark course while recruiting him to come to Baylor. As the Houston Chronicle reported in 1994, Lambert also accused the coach of offering him a discounted car and apartment, both "potential violations of NCAA rules."

7. Disservices to education: In July 2007, the University of Edinburgh revoked the honorary doctorate it had bestowed on Robert Mugabe, then prime minister and now president of Zimbabwe, in 1984. The degree recognized Mugabe's "services to education in Africa," according to the Guardian. "He has since been blamed for Zimbabwe's failing economy and accused of running an oppressive regime," the article added.

8. I spy a falsified degree: In July 2010, Harvard University stripped Russian spy Andrey Bezrukov—who had attended Harvard under the name Donald H. Heathfield—of his graduate degree in public administration. "The Kennedy School usually severs its relationship with a student when it is discovered that the individual's application contains inaccuracies," the Harvard Crimson reported.

Tags:: plagiarism,; colleges,; students,; graduate schools,; ethics,; education,; academics

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Today, I logged in XID that I once registered at the official site of Harvard University, but not activated.
Until then, I have cancelled it from the data.
It is issue of the university credibility!
As a result, I was deceived by the professors in school of law, business
JD and DBA to be given to me in 2011.

pepepe9999 12:28AM December 06, 2012

I have become aware of serious questions about two different degrees of two different people. The transgressions seem obvious, but the degrees were granted in he 1970s and 1980s from major state universities. Who investigates these things. All I know is what others have said and the lack of education acquired,which is obvious. If there were an investigation there would be many witnesses. The allegations is that tuition was paid degrees awarded but other people attended the classes. WHO DO I TURN TO? People say, that was in the past. Well, the concern arise due to their current shady dealings. Not the past at all. To make the current activity look intentional rather than just another case where they seem not to work and find great benefit while leaving a trail of destruction.

Mark of FL 9:14PM July 04, 2012

MLK was a genius. He, almost alone understood that a non violence movement would advance civil rights for all Americans further and faster than all the provoked violence, psychopathic taunting, public lynching had accomplished. What are you suggesting we do, rattle his bones. If we had the assassinated leader to address the issue I believe it would more thoroughly demote the education mafia than it would diminish his brave accomplishments. He stood alone, the FBI smeared him secretly. Blackmailed him to commit suicide. Why would he maintain incriminating evidence. It appears that Jim's collection of papers led to this charge. It is an old trick. A public figure here in Tampa had to spend a million dollars from his own pocket to establish that the charges were trumped up. There was no evidence in the final analysis. After all, these professors have an odd sense of using libraries. As a famous historian said after publication of his heavily researched background of personal experiences in WWII, he made notes, lots of notes. Sometimes he put notes in his note books that did not have quotes. In every case he had recognized the works. There was a note he made about the sky somewhere. The description had been used earlier. There are no ideas, or so few new ideas by so few people that is very hard to understand where anyone has the nerve to claim any thought as his own. Disney claims it own the rights to all the Grimm Fairytales he turned into cartoons. how is Snowwhite his to claim, or Cinderella, these classics were a century old before Disney was born. When we outlaw library research we set the world back. The loss of the library at Alexandria is said to have brought on the Dark Ages where people marveled at ancient roads bridges, water works, harbors, public buildings but had no earthly idea how it was accomplished for a thousand years. The world is full of nut jobs. Tell me, do you imagine you might have a right wing race baiting attitude? How often have you gone to a library?

Mark Gibbons of FL 9:02PM July 04, 2012

10 High-Profile People Whose Degrees Were Revoked

These notable figures saw their degrees stripped for plagiarism or other crimes.

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10 High-Profile People Whose Degrees Were Revoked

These notable figures saw their degrees stripped for plagiarism or other crimes.

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