University of New Brunswick starts formal investigation into Trump ally’s PhD
Global News
The University of New Brunswick is conducting a formal investigation into allegations of academic fraud against a former PhD student and high-profile ally of Donald Trump.
The University of New Brunswick has appointed three professors from other institutions to conduct a formal investigation into allegations of academic fraud against a former PhD student who is also a high-profile ally of former United States president Donald Trump.
The academic credentials of Doug Mastriano, a retired U.S. army colonel and Republican politician, were called into question last fall when several scholars alleged that his 2013 doctoral dissertation was plagued by factual errors, fabrications, omissions and amateurish archeology.
At the time, the Pennsylvania state senator was widely known for his active role in the movement to overturn Trump’s 2020 election defeat. With Trump’s support, he won the Republican nomination to run for state governor, but he lost that race on Nov. 9, 2022.
Mastriano dismissed the allegations last fall, saying “left-leaning professors” at UNB were unable to deal with his political views and military background.
In response to the initial allegations, university officials conducted a preliminary assessment of a formal complaint, and reviewed the schools’ policies for awarding doctoral degrees. The results of those efforts were not made public.
The formal complaint was submitted on Oct. 6, 2022, by James Gregory, an instructor and PhD candidate at the University of Oklahoma, who documented 213 allegations of academic misconduct in Mastriano’s dissertation about U.S. army Sgt. Alvin York, a highly decorated First World War infantryman.
On March 3 of this year, Gregory received a letter from UNB’s vice-president of research, David MaGee, who said he had determined the allegations had “sufficient substance” to warrant a formal investigation under the school’s Responsible Conduct in Research policy.
The three-member investigation committee must submit its findings and recommendations to MaGee within 60 days of its formation. But the university’s policy says their confidential report will not be released to the public.
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