Official At UCLA Faces Allegations
After recent reports of controversial diversity and inclusion practices at UCLA School of Medicine, an investigation by the Daily Wire and City Journal has revealed that the school's DEI program may be led by a fraud. Natalie J. Perry, who is responsible for implementing UCLA's "Cultural North Star" program, has been accused of plagiarism in her 2014 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Virginia.
The investigation found that Perry's dissertation, which focused on creating larger DEI programs for colleges, contained significant portions of text that were directly lifted from ten other papers without proper citation. In some cases, Perry even failed to mention or credit the original authors of the plagiarized work, raising questions about her ethics and competence in the academic field.
Upon further review of her dissertation, it became clear that Perry had not thoroughly read her sources, as she had lifted passages verbatim from the first page of several papers without any attribution. Her paper also contained multiple instances of copying and pasting entire sections from other papers without quotation or credit.
One notable example includes Perry's analysis of work done by professors Robert Quinn and John Rohrbaugh, which was largely copied and unattributed from a 2003 paper by John Smart. Perry also failed to properly cite and credit the original sources in a section discussing organizational culture, leaving out some papers she had cited parenthetically in the body of her dissertation.
The extent of the plagiarism in Perry's paper suggests a lack of integrity and competence in both her academic work and her current role at UCLA as a DEI leader. Despite this, Perry has been praised for her work in promoting a diverse and inclusive campus. In fact, she was recently honored by the university for her contributions to teaching students "to do what's right."
Concerns have also been raised about the institutions that have awarded Perry her degrees and her current position at UCLA. These schools, including Harvard where she earned her master's degree, have seemingly lowered their expectations for favored individuals, allowing them to pass through the system without facing consequences for academic dishonesty. This raises questions about the validity of the DEI programs at these institutions and their commitment to upholding academic integrity.
Attempts to reach Perry and UCLA for comment have been unsuccessful, but it is clear that her actions have cast a shadow over the credibility of the UCLA School of Medicine and its DEI program. This raises concerns about the quality of education and training medical students are receiving, as they have been subjected to controversial lessons on topics such as "Indigenous womxn" and "two-spirits," a class on "structural racism," and a "Free Palestine" chant led by a guest speaker who praises Hamas.
In addition, the school recently made plans to segregate students by race for courses on left-wing ideology, and two of its psychiatry residents have openly championed "revolutionary suicide." These incidents have called into question the school's priorities and whether it has strayed from its primary focus of providing a quality medical education.
One possible explanation for the school's shift in focus may be its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology. This ideology, which emphasizes promoting tolerance and inclusivity, may have led the school to prioritize its DEI program over other aspects of education. However, with the discovery of Perry's plagiarism, it raises concerns about the validity and credibility of these diversity initiatives and their leaders.