Musician Evelyn Harris has been accused of plagiarizing parts of a commencement speech she delivered at Smith College on Sunday, May 18
Harris has since returned an honorary degree she’d received
Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton addressed the incident in a letter this week
Musician Evelyn Harris has given up an honorary degree from Smith College after she allegedly plagiarized bits of the commencement speech she delivered to students on Sunday, May 18.
Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton addressed the incident in a letter on Tuesday, May 20.
“It has come to our attention that one of our honorary degree recipients, musician Evelyn M. Harris, borrowed much of her speech to graduates and their families from the commencement speeches of others without the attribution typical of and central to the ideals of academic integrity,” she wrote to students at the private women’s college in Massachusetts.
She added that Harris decided to give up the honorary degree during discussions about the incident after the ceremony.
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“Ms. Harris was forthcoming about her choices while also acknowledging that she sought to infuse the words of others with her own emotional valence,” Willie-LeBreton wrote.
She said a new version of the graduation highlights is forthcoming on the school’s website.
“I appreciate those who brought the dissonance of this moment to our attention and am very grateful for the graciousness of Evelyn Harris’s decision,” Willie-LeBreton wrote.
Harris, who was an 18-year member of the acapella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, does not appear to have commented publicly about the plagiarism accusations nor her decision to return the honorary degree.
According to Smith College, the other honorary degree recipients who spoke briefly at graduation include Harvard University professor Danielle Allen, former Assistant Secretary for Health for the Department of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine, as well as writer and academic Preeti Simran Sethi.
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