EDUCATION PANEL REJECTS DENCH’S NOMINATION FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF PLAGIARISM

Lawmakers Confirm 21 of LePage’s 22 Nominees For Appointments

AUGUSTA — The State Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee on Friday rejected Governor Paul LePage’s nomination of controversial conservative writer Susan Dench to the University of Maine Board of Trustees board following testimony finding she had plagiarized a weekly column in the Bangor Daily News.

The committee confirmed the remainder of LePage’s 22 nominees after asking questions focused on qualifications and merits.

“Representing the University System should be reserved for those of the highest ethical caliber and neither students nor faculty could get away with the slack standard of plagiarism,” said Senator Millett of Cape Elizabeth. “And, even beyond that, Mrs. Dench is simply not qualified for this position.”

During the hearing, Jane Kuenz, Professor and Chair of the English Department at the University of Southern Maine provided evidence that Susan Dench plagiarized a November 22, 2012 blog post on the Bangor Daily News web site in which she lifted material from the Free Republic and William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation to argue that the Pilgrims had “conducted a failed experiment with communism…”. Jane Kuenz’s full testimony can be found here.

“As a retired teacher, I can tell you plagiarism wouldn’t be okay for my students and shouldn’t be okay for a member of a University board,” said Rep. Bruce MacDonald of Boothbay, House chair of the committee and a retired educator. “It automatically disqualified Mrs. Dench for the nomination, along with her fringe viewpoints that undermine public education.”

Dench’s nomination met with strong opposition from members of the public, including University professors, students, and women’s groups who opposed her radical positions on education and gender roles.

A list of nominees and their respective boards can be found here. The Maine Senate will reconvene on September 30 to vote on the committee’s recommendations.  A two-thirds vote is needed to override any committee recommendation.

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