Chris Spence, former director of the Toronto District School Board, may lose his doctoral degree from the University of Toronto if administrators conclude he plagiarized in his 1996 Ph.D dissertation.
Spence resigned from the TDSB last week after admitting to plagiarizing parts of an editorial piece for the Toronto Star. Since then, a number of Spence’s articles and his two books have come under heightened scrutiny. Spence’s alleged widespread plagiarism is also under investigation by the Ontario College of Teachers.
The Star reported they found several passages in Spence’s dissertation as well as lengthy sections of his 2008 book The Joys of Teaching Boys that were copied without citation from various sources. In a statement released by Spence Friday afternoon, he said he will be “fully cooperat[ing] with any possible inquiry.”
With files from the Toronto Star.
