"Now that you've been caught red-handed, there need to be an investigation to determine what color your hand is."

The University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine dean, Dr. Philip Baker, delivered a convocation speech to medical students last Friday that included verbatim excerpts from a speech given last year by Harvard professor Atul Gawande to graduates of Stanford University Medical School. Nevertheless, the plagiarizing dean has not been suspended and will remain working “until allegations are investigated in a formal procedure,” University officials announced. “This is somebody’s reputation and we take this very seriously.”

If the University takes it seriously, why hasn’t Baker been fired, or, for that matter, why hasn’t he resigned? Continue reading →