MnSCU probes alleged plagiarism by two college presidents

Minnesota's system of state-run colleges is looking into accusations that two of its campus presidents plagiarized their doctoral dissertations.

Nicole Helget, a former South Central College adjunct instructor says the president of that college, Annette Parker, plagiarized others' work while studying at Western Kentucky University.

Helget also accused Dorothy Duran, the president of Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical, of plagiarizing parts of her dissertation at the University of Texas at Austin.

"If you actually sit down with the dissertations and the documents they come from — like I have done — there is no question about whether these pieces were plagiarized on purpose or not," Helget said.

South Central College has campuses in North Mankato and Faribault. Minnesota State College is in Winona and Red Wing. Representatives for both presidents have denied the accusations.

Leaders of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system have asked the universities in Kentucky and Texas to review the dissertations.

Accusations of academic dishonesty are a huge concern, said MnSCU Trustee Phil Krinkie. "If they prove to have any credence or any credibility, you can be certain that we will act," he said.