NMMU CV FRAUD SCANDAL
University probing PhD qualifications and academic achievements of former dean of arts
THE qualifications and academic achievements of Professor Velile Notshulwana, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s former dean of arts, are being investigated by the institution.
Notshulwana, 54, who was also a regular Herald columnist from 2010 to 2012, must now prove that he actually obtained his PhD from Southern California University as stated in his CV.
An independent two-week investigation by The Herald discovered that Notshulwana:
ý Did not co-author two journal articles published in 2006 and 2010, as stated in the copy of his CV seen by The Herald;
ý Plagiarised huge chunks of other writers’ work for at least 24 columns he wrote for The Herald under the banner “Keepin It Real” between January 2011 and December 2012; and
ý Did not work at two research centres abroad as stated in the same CV.
The Herald editor Heather Robertson said she was shocked by the discovery of the plagiarism as Notshulwana was a well-known academic and psychologist, who had also co-hosted The Herald/NMMU dialogues.
“This wilful theft of other people’s work from around the world is totally unethical.”
Approached for comment, Notshulwana said the matter was under investigation and the subject of a legal battle.
“I’m well aware of what is going on and I strongly believe this is character assassin- ation,” he said. “When you are going through a divorce, anything is possible.”
He said he was aware of an anonymous force behind the investigation.
“I have instituted legal action against this shadow that has been feeding people private information about me.”
Speaking on behalf of NMMU yesterday, deputy vice-chancellor for academics Pro- fessor Piet Naude confirmed Notshulwana was being probed for alleged CV fraud.
In a CV seen by The Herald, Notshulwana states that he worked at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Inner City in New Jersey in 2004.
However, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching public affairs associate, vice-president Gay Clyburn, said she had never even heard of him. “We have no record of him having worked here. I don’t recall a visiting scholar by that name,” she said.
It was further established that the Newark Comprehensive Centre for Fathers, also in New Jersey, where Notshulwana claims to have worked in 2007, was only established in 2008. On the CV seen by The Herald, Notshulwana claimed to have coauthored Incorporating Spirituality and Religion into the Treatment of African- American Clients with Nancy Boyd-Franklin, and Racism and Invisibility: Race-related Stress, Emotional Abuse and Psychological Trauma for People of Colour with Boyd-
Franklin, her husband AJ, and Dr Shalonda Kelly.
The Herald established that he was not one of the authors on either journal. Kelly said of Notshulwana: “I’m sorry, but I do not know this person, and thus have not worked with him.”
The Herald discovered that large sections of about 24 of Notshulwana’s columns published in The Herald between January 2011 and December 2012 were plagiarised from the works of professors abroad, and even celebrity psychologist Dr Phil.
In a column titled “Identifying the molester”, published in August 2012, Notshulwana claims to have interviewed a woman by the name of Donna on her fears about her daughter being molested. The same interview was published by Professor Carla van Dam in her book, Identifying Child Molesters, only the names of the subjects and their ages were changed.
In another column, “Making peace with past”, large portions were copied and pasted from DrPhil.com.
Large parts of Notshulwana’s columns written for City Press and The Star were also plagiarised.
Despite suspicions about his academic career first coming to light in March, Notshulwana was appointed chairman of the family studies unit at NMMU’s Missionvale campus just two months later.
The five-year fixed-term contract comes with a salary of at least R1-million a year. Notshulwana, who grew up in Kwazakhele be- fore relocating to the US in the late 1980s, obtained his BA psychology degree from City College of New York. Although he did not complete his masters degree, he claims to have obtained his PhD in psychology from Southern California University.
Notshulwana did not give dates in his CV as to when he obtained these degrees.
Naude said while it was not the norm, some professors did skip their masters degree to go straight for their PhD.
In a statement to The Herald, NMMU said as part of the appointment process, all CVs of short-listed candidates were vetted on behalf of the university by an outside agency.
“In the case of Prof Notshulwana’s initial appointment as dean of arts in 2009, the university fol- lowed this process and no information was brought to our attention by the verification agency, Kroll, [now known as Managed Integrity Evaluation] to doubt the material claims made in the CV.
“As we process hundreds of applications each year, the university has to rely on the veracity of the background checks by verification services, unless otherwise proven.”
When NMMU learnt in March from other independent sources that certain misrepresentations might be contained in the CV, it launched an investigation.
“This initial investigation yielded information that requires further explanation from the staff member,” it said.
“Once NMMU has given the employee a fair hearing, it will act in accordance with our disciplinary code, and take any necessary steps to uphold and protect our integrity.” Naude said that NMMU had, through its lawyers, obtained permission from Notshulwana to verify his PhD.
He said Notshulwana was given the position of chairman of the family studies unit despite the suspicions raised because the allegations against him could not be proven at that stage.
“If the allegations turn out to be false, we will apologise to Prof Notshulwana.”
The university had also asked Notshulwana to supply the names of the masters and PhD students he claims to have supervised for their dissertations between 2001 and last year.
His co-authorship of certain journals was also being probed.