After plagiarism in grant application, UNC’s vice chancellor of research steps down
UNC-Chapel Hill professor Terry Magnuson is stepping down from his position as vice chancellor for research after he plagiarized in a federal grant application for cancer research.
In his vice chancellor role, Magnuson had served as UNC’s official charged with “ensuring research integrity and compliance with the federal regulatory framework governing research.”
In an email sent to campus directors of research centers and institutes that was obtained by The News & Observer, Magnuson explained that leading the university office that investigates research misconduct, it was his “duty to ensure others can trust that the system treats everyone equally, without regard to position or status, and that no one is above the law.”
He said he accepted responsibility for what occurred and considered the discipline from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research Integrity to be reasonable and appropriate.
Magnuson said he and Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz jointly made the decision for him to resign the leadership post.
Magnuson has served as vice chancellor since 2016 and was recently reappointed, leading the university’s $1 billion research operation.
He is also the Kay M. & Van L. Weatherspoon Eminent Distinguished Professor of Genetics in the UNC School of Medicine and was the founding chair of the department of genetics. Magnuson is also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A ‘mistake’ in the application
Magnuson explained his “mistake” that resulted in the research misconduct.
While fleshing out some technical details of the proposed methodology in a grant proposal, Magnuson used pieces of text from two equipment vendor websites and a publicly available online article, he said.
He inserted them into his document as placeholders and intended to come back to them and rework the sections where the routine techniques were discussed, he said.
But he said he lost track of his editing and did not rework the text or cite the sources.
“I should stress that none of this involved the scientific inquiry proposed for funding, the data behind it, or the goals of the work,” Magnuson said in the email.
Concern from faculty
Chancellor Guskiewicz and Provost Chris Clemens sent out an email announcing the news about Magnuson to the campus community Thursday evening, soon after Faculty Chair Mimi Chapman voiced concerns from faculty about Magnuson staying in his role.
Chapman said she has been fielding phone calls and emails about Magnuson stepping down from his administrative position because “the symbolism of it is just something that feels untenable” to some faculty.
“As a faculty, we believe that this situation has the potential to taint our own scholarship and gives the impression that some members of our community are ‘untouchable’ while for others such a situation would be a career-ender,” Chapman said in an email on behalf of faculty.
She said it was not a demand that he resign, but asked that Guskiewicz and Clemens resolve this situation.
The campus announcement came about an hour later.
“Terry has left an indelible mark on Carolina, and we thank him for his service,” Guskiewicz and Clemens wrote.
They applauded Magnuson’s significant contributions and “long-lasting impacts” on the university’s research enterprise. They noted his work in building Creativity Hubs, which is a “seed funding initiative that creates evolving virtual research networks, concentrating interdisciplinary talent and resources on bold ideas.” They also recognized his efforts in developing the concept for the Institute for Convergent Science.
Magnuson’s last day as vice chancellor will be Friday.
Penny Gordon-Larsen, associate dean for research at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition, will serve as interim vice chancellor for research.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 6:02 PM with the headline "After plagiarism in grant application, UNC’s vice chancellor of research steps down."
