Black Columbia University "noosed" Woman Professor Madonna G. Constantine charged with Plagiarism

Professor Madonna G. Constantine speaks at a protest rally at Teachers College at Columbia University, one day after a hangman's noose was discovered on her office door at the college, in this Oct. 10, 2007, file photo in New York. (AP)

The Noose issue is having major ramifications. First it was a member of the Jena 6 arrested in Texas, now it is the Columbia University black professor who found the noose on her office door being charged with taking the work of others - Plagiarism.

CBS News Reporrts A Columbia University professor whose colleagues found a noose hanging from her office doorway has plagiarized the work of others, the school says. Madonna G. Constantine denies the finding and says the accusation is racially motivated.

The university's Teachers College announced Wednesday it had imposed "serious sanctions" against Constantine following a lengthy investigation it said uncovered "numerous instances in which she used others' work without attribution in papers she published in academic journals over the past five years."

Constantine's lawyer, Paul J. Giacomo Jr., said his client could prove her innocence and called the school's investigation "extremely underhanded from the beginning." He said he would appeal the sanctions, which neither side would disclose.

The inquiry into Constantine, an education and psychology professor who has written extensively about race, was launched in 2006, long before the noose was discovered this past October, the school said.

"The investigators found a real pattern - two dozen instances of similar language from three people who came forward separately," Teachers College spokeswoman Marcia Horowitz said. "Dr. Constantine's explanation was not credible." More HERE

So what do you think. Is the professor being set up, or is it really just a case her doing the wrong thing?