Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager, recently made headlines not just for his financial endeavours but due to a surprising twist involving his wife, Neri Oxman. Here’s a brief look at the unfolding saga:
Plagiarism allegations surface:
The Times brought to light accusations against Harvard’s president, Claudine Claudine Gay, for plagiarizing academic work. Business Insider then revealed a similar pattern in the academic history of Neri Oxman, Ackman’s wife and an MIT professor.
BI’s analysis identified instances where Oxman lifted passages without proper citation in her 2010 doctoral dissertation. Multiple paragraphs were traced back to various sources, including a 1998 paper by Israeli scholars, a 2006 article from the journal Nature, and more.
Bill Ackman’s response:
Bill Ackman, known for his tough stance on plagiarism, took to X, stating that serious plagiarism issues warrant Gay’s complete removal from Harvard’s faculty. He emphasized the importance of maintaining academic integrity and questioned the decision to retain Gay after her resignation.
Oxman’s achievements and past controversies:
Oxman, an architect and artist, gained recognition for her innovative work with natural materials, collaborations with Björk, and exhibits at prestigious institutions. Previously, emails uncovered by the Boston Globe exposed Ackman’s efforts to keep Oxman’s name out of a controversy related to a sculpture gifted to Jeffrey Epstein.
Plagiarism in dissertation:
BI’s investigation uncovered Oxman’s use of unoriginal content from various sources in her 2010 dissertation, violating MIT’s academic integrity guidelines. Instances of paraphrasing without proper attribution and inaccurate source attribution were also identified.
Bill Ackman’s changing stance:
Despite Ackman’s strong stance on plagiarism in Gay’s case, he softened his tone after BI’s revelations about Oxman. Ackman acknowledged the possibility of authors missing quotation marks but downplayed the severity of plagiarism, suggesting it reflects more on competency than being a crime.
Here’s a series of tweets Ackman posted on X defending his wife and questioning the whole report:
Ongoing controversy:
Ackman’s focus on academic integrity aligns with his broader activism against university leaders, including Gay and MIT’s president, Sally Kornbluth. The situation remains dynamic as Ackman continues his pursuit of change, leaving us to wonder what the future holds for the Ackman-Oxman saga.
