UC-Riverside Prof Resigning After Being Accused of Falsely Claiming Cherokee Heritage
“made fraudulent claims to Native American identity in violation of the Faculty Code of Conduct provisions concerning academic integrity”
This just keeps happening. It’s a shame this trend wasn’t in place when Elizabeth Warren was teaching at Harvard.
Inside Higher Ed reports:
Professor Leaving University After Being Dubbed ‘Pretendian’ for Years
Andrea Smith has been publicly criticized for her contested claims of Cherokee heritage for at least 15 years. Despite this, she remained employed as a prominent Native American studies scholar.
But the condemnations have led to a turning point. According to a “separation agreement and release of all claims” shared on social media Thursday, she is resigning from the University of California, Riverside, next August after 13 faculty members at Riverside alleged a year ago that she “made fraudulent claims to Native American identity in violation of the Faculty Code of Conduct provisions concerning academic integrity.”
The deal, signed by Smith in December and UC Riverside’s chancellor in January, says Smith will be eligible for retirement and the emeritus title, consistent with a policy that says every retiring professor or associate professor receives it. However, the document states, “Professor Smith agrees that her status as a professor emeritus will not be listed on the university directory information websites.”
The agreement says that the university, upon receiving the complaint, “engaged Professor Smith in discussions on informal resolution,” but did not launch a “formal university investigation” or make findings on the allegations.
It says the deal’s purpose is to “avoid the substantial expense and inconvenience of further administrative or legal proceedings, to provide certainty to the parties for future planning purposes and to settle fully and finally all differences that may exist.” The university agreed to pay Smith’s attorney fees, up to $5,000.
“Professor Smith agrees to not make any affirmative claims of Native American heritage in connection with her university work for the duration of her university employment,” the document says. “However, if asked about her heritage in connection with her university work, professor Smith is permitted to disclose her opinion on her Native American heritage.”
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Comments
“It’s a shame this trend wasn’t in place when Elizabeth Warren was teaching at Harvard.”
Why not just accuse her of pretending to be a Senator?
“This just keeps happening. It’s a shame this trend wasn’t in place when Elizabeth Warren was teaching at Harvard.”
The woman has no sense of shame or what is right. So, I doubt she’d have resigned.
Is there somewhere a Running List? (See what I did there?)
Interested to see the total number as well as the gender breakdown. Just a suspicion, but I think I’m sensing a pattern.
There are actually two lists of note. The best known is the Alleged Pretendian List by Jacqueline Keeler. (See https://annehelen.substack.com/p/the-pretendians-131).
There is a second group called the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds, which has a similar mission but a somewhat narrower focus. (See https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-native-american-activists-exposing-celebrity-race-fakers)