RED WING, Minn. -- The president of Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has been cleared of an accusation she plagiarized her doctoral dissertation at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dorothy Duran, who has led the college since July 2014, had been accused by a former adjunct instructor at South Central College in Mankato, Minn.
According to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system Friday, the University of Texas dismissed the allegation after an inquiry and affirmed Duran’s doctoral degree.
MnSCU said a Texas administrator wrote that “Duran’s behavior does not rise to scientific misconduct” and a formal investigation was unnecessary.
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“We are pleased, but not surprised, with the outcome reported by the University of Texas at Austin,” MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone said in a news release.
“As we said at the time of the accusation, the accepted protocol is to rely on the issuing institution to evaluate the work, and we would fully respect that process.”
Duran is the second of two MnSCU presidents recently cleared of plagiarism accusations.
In April, an allegation that South Central College President Annette Parker had not properly attributed portions of her dissertation at Western Kentucky also was dismissed.
According to media reports, both allegations were made by former adjunct instructor Nicole Helget of North Mankato.
Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has campuses in Winona and Red Wing.
