From: The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 10, 2004.  Available online at: http://chronicle.com/daily/2004/03/2004031005n.htm.

President of Central Connecticut State U. Is Accused of Plagiarism

By AUDREY WILLIAMS JUNE

The president of Central Connecticut State University plagiarized parts of an opinion article he wrote for The Hartford Courant last month, the newspaper told its readers on Tuesday.

In an apology headlined "Every Editor's Nightmare," the newspaper's editorial-page editor explained that one of its readers had accused Richard L. Judd of using verbatim text from other sources, including an editorial that ran just over a year ago in The New York Times.

"It's hard to imagine Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and a university president passing off other people's sentences as their own," wrote John J. Zakarian, the editorial-page editor, referring to plagiarism accusations in recent years that have tarnished two popular historians. "The Courant regrets publishing Judd's article."

Mr. Judd's article, which appeared in February 26 editions of the Courant, described how peace is an attainable goal for the island of Cyprus, which has been divided for 40 years between its majority Greek and minority Turkish populations.

Mr. Judd, who has said he used the material inadvertently, was out of the country on university business on Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.

However, the chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, William J. Cibes Jr., said that Mr. Judd had been asked to cut his trip short in order to meet as soon as possible with the university's Board of Trustees about the allegations.

"Once the board is able to get together with President Judd, they will assess the allegations and hear his comments and make a decision about what to do," Mr. Cibes said.

If the board decides to take action against Mr. Judd, the chancellor said, penalties could range from a reprimand to termination.

Mr. Judd's article said: "The U.N. plan may not be perfect, but rejecting it would be a worse alternative for both Cypriot communities." The Times editorial, which ran January 7, 2003, said: "Mr. Annan's plan may not be perfect, but rejecting it would be a worse alternative for both Cypriot communities."

In the Courant' s apology, Mr. Judd is quoted as explaining that he had "consulted many sources" and taken "copious notes" to help prepare the many speeches he had given on Cyprus. One of the speeches later became the basis for the Courant article, he said.

"I mistakenly assumed notes I had made were my own, and I thus incorporated them without attribution," he told the Courant. "As an author of many texts and articles, I should have done a better job of vetting my text. I had no intention of using another's words or misleading readers in describing my sense of events in Cyprus."

Two years ago, Mr. Judd was reprimanded by the trustees for impersonating a police officer. He received a letter of "displeasure" from the board after he admitted that he had used flashing lights on his university-owned car, along with an official-looking badge, to pull over a driver who he thought was speeding on a street near Central Connecticut's campus.

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