Public and private university professors interviewed by Kansas Reflector say the 2004 doctoral dissertation of Wichita State University president Richard Muma plagiarized content from scholars without adequate attribution. These excerpts from Muma's dissertation are compared to writing by the original authors to illustrate Muma's copy-and-paste approach. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
WICHITA — Wichita State University president Richard Muma included in his 2004 dissertation dozens of verbatim or paraphrased passages of text borrowed from books or journal articles by more than 20 scholars.
Muma, named president of Wichita State in 2020 by the Kansas Board of Regents, copied academic work of others without quotation marks or indented margins to identify parts were written by another author.
Ten academic professionals interviewed by Kansas Reflector say Muma engaged in plagiarism.
Muma’s spokeswoman at Wichita State said the dissertation was “entirely original” and source materials were properly cited.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis awarded Muma a doctorate for “ Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators .”
Kansas Reflector developed side-by-side comparisons of text from Muma’s dissertation and original text from academic publications Muma drew upon. In these examples, the original writing of a scholar is in bold type. Below that information, text that was copied into Muma’s dissertation without appropriate attribution is also displayed in bold type.
Read the story here .
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John Bennett, author of 1983 “Managing the Academic Department.” Chapter 1, page 1.
Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson.
Richard Muma, 2004 dissertation for doctorate, “Use of Mintzberg’s Model of Managerial Roles as a Framework to Describe a Population of Academic Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 1, page 1.
Important? Definitely. Overworked? Probably. Prepared for the job? Rarely. This is the typical academic department chairperson. (Bennett, 1983)
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Allan Tucker, author of 1984 “Chairing the Academic Department.” Chapter 1, page 1.
Paradoxically, most department chairpersons are drawn from faculty ranks and have had, at best, very little administrative experience. A 1977 survey of 400 department chairpersons in the State University System of Florida found that 68% had no prior administrative experience, the turnover rate was 15 to 20% per year, and the chairpersons’ term of service was usually six years. Forty-one percent of these chairpersons were elected by their colleagues, and another 44% were appointed by their deans with faculty consultation.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 1, page 1.
Despite the intricacies of running an academic department, chairs have very little administrative experience in doing so. (Tucker, 1984) surveyed 400 department chairpersons in the State University System of Florida and found that 68 percent had no prior administrative experience, the turnover rate was 15 to 20 percent per year, and the chairpersons’ term of service was usually six years. Forty-one percent of these chairpersons were elected by their colleagues, and another 44 percent were appointed by their deans with faculty consultation.
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Kathleen Stassen Berger, author of 2002 “One Person, Six Directions: The Inevitable Conflicts of a Department Chair” in American Association of Higher Education Bulletin. Page 1, paragraph 1.
Too much to do, too little time. Deadlines ignored; demands not met; requests trashed. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks on my door, now closed despite contrary aspirations.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 1, page 1, paragraph 1. (Muma incorrectly attributed Berger’s work to two scholars.)
It seems that academic department chairs have too much to do and no time to do it. Frequently they ignore deadlines, have demands that are not met , and requests are not answered. (Stassen & Berger, 2002) Students, faculty, staff, and administrators queue up with phone messages, mailbox memos, emails, and knocks on the door . (Stassen & Berger, 2002)
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Alan Seagren, John Creswell and Daniel Wheeler, authors of 1993 “The Department Chair: New Roles, Responsibilities and Challenges.” Page 1, paragraph 1.
Academic chairs occupy a pivotal position in the organization of higher education. An estimated 80 percent of all university decisions are made at the departmental level (Roach 1976), and the position of department chair is the most common entry point into the hierarchy of academic administration. (McDade 1987) “An institution can run for a long time with an inept president but not for long with inept chairpersons.” (Peltason 1984, p. xi)
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 21.
Academic chairs occupy a pivotal position in the organization of higher education. (Seagren et al, 1993) As mentioned previously, an estimated 80 percent of all university decisions are carried out by the department chair (Roach, 1976), which is also the most common entry point into the hierarchy of academic administration. (McDade, 1987) The importance of a department chair is emphasized by Peltason (1984), “an institution can run for a long time with an inept president, but not for long with inept chairpersons.”
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Bennett, 1983 “Managing the Academic Department.” Chapter 2, page 11.
Regardless of the method of selection, the chairperson is an odd creature and is in an odd spot. Rooted in the faculty like no other faculty member, he or she has both an excess and a deficiency of identity. As a result, the roles that need to be played are many and the responsibilities can be quite challenging.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 1, page 1, paragraph 2.
The chairperson is an odd creature , in an odd spot . (Bennett, 1983) Rooted in the faculty like no other administrator, but tied to the administration like no other faculty member, he or she has both an excess and a deficiency of identity. (Bennett, 1983) As a result, the roles that need to be played are many and the responsibilities can be challenging. (Bennett, 1983)
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Henry Mintzberg, author of 1980 “The Nature of Managerial Work.” Page 17.
Researchers of the leader effectiveness school — many of them social psychologists — focus not so much on the job of managing as on the man in the job. They seek to discover what set of personality traits or managerial styles lead a manager to effective performance.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 17.
Researchers of the leader effectiveness school, many of them social psychologists, focus not so much on the job of managing as on the person in the job. They seek to discover what set of personality traits or managerial styles lead a manager to effective performance.
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Sue Schafer, author of 2002 “Three Perspectives on Physical Therapist Managerial Work” published in “Physical Therapy,” Volume 82, issue 3, pages 228-236.
Pavett and Lau found that, regardless of work setting, the most important roles were leader, resource allocator and disseminator. They concluded that these roles did not appear to be career specific and could be applied to any manager in any industry.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 1, pages 6-7.
Pavett and Lau found that, regardless of work setting, the most important roles were leader, resource allocator and disseminator. (Schafer, 1992) Pavett and Lau also concluded that these roles did not appear to be career specific and could be applied to any manager in any industry. (Schafer, 1992)
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Beverly Dyer and Michael Miller, authors of 1999 “A Critical Review of Literature Relevant to the Department Chair Position.”
The department chair position is vital to the operation of higher education institutions.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 14.
The department chair position is vital to the operation of higher education institutions. (Dyer & Miller, 1999)
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Mintzberg, 1980 “The Nature of Managerial Work.” Page 14.
They argue that managers do not have explicit goal systems or preference functions; that a most important and neglected part of the decision-making process is the step to define a problem; that alternatives and their consequences are seldom known with clarity; and, finally, that choices are made to satisfy constraints, not to maximize objectives.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 16.
They argue that managers do not have explicit goal systems; that a most important and neglected part of the decision-making process is the step to define a problem; that alternatives and their consequences are seldom known with clarity; and that choices are made to satisfy constraints, not to maximize objectives. (Mintzberg, 1980)
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Mintzberg, 1980 “The Nature of Managerial Work.” Pages 14-15.
Extending their framework, these theorists depict the organization as a loosely coupled set of programs (established procedures) arranged in hierarchical order so that the high-level programs do the work of constructing and modifying the low-level programs that perform basic work.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, pages 16-17.
Extending their framework, decision theorists depict managers running organizations that have programs (established procedures) arranged in hierarchical order so that the high-level programs do the work of constructing and modifying the low-level programs that perform basic work. (Mintzberg, 1980)
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Dyer and Miller, 1999 “Critical Review of Literature Relevant to the Department Chair Position.” Page 5.
Significant events that impacted the development of the chair position were the Reconstruction period, Morrill legislation, vocational education, a new interest in philanthropy and development, and a move from society based on agriculture and land interest to one based on industry. Although the Reconstruction period and Morrill legislation played a major role in changing institutions of higher education, it is the role played by business, industry and politics that had the most impact on the development of the chair position.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 20.
Significant events that influenced the development of the chair position were the reconstruction period , the Morrill Acts, professional education, and a move from society based on agriculture and land interest to one based on industry. Although the reconstruction period and Morrill Acts played a major role in changing institutions of higher education, it is the role played by business, industry, and politics that had the most impact on the development of the chair position. (Dyer & Miller, 1999)
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Dyer and Miller, 1999 “Critical Review of Literature Relevant to the Department Chair Position.” (They quoted Bennett, author of 1983 “Managing the Academic Department.” Page 8-9.)
Bennett (1989), a provost at Siena Heights College, Adrian, Michigan, presented a series of arguments about types of department chairs. He identified four types: hopefuls, survivors, transients, and adversarial. The hopeful chair is typically new to the position, recognizes that a difference can be made, and “can see the tension of role ambiguity as a positive thing, masking or even creating opportunities.” (p. 10) The survivor, those who typically have “more than 10 years of service as chair, are more likely to have been selected by an administrator and to belong to large, stable departments.” (p. 10) While some survivors provide organizational continuity and perspective, others have lost their capacity to enable others and need to be replaced. The transient is typically one who is elected to or has rotated into the position of department chair. The transient is typically just “serving their time.” The adversarial department chair typically emerges “from an unhappy and contentious faculty” (p. 11) and sees administrative decisions as being aimed at him or her personally.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 22. (Muma deleted quotation marks and page numbers used by Dyer and Miller to identify writing of others.)
Bennett (1989) has identified types of department chairs, which include those called hopefuls, survivors, transients and adversaries. The hopeful chair is typically new to the position, recognizes that a difference can be made, and can see the tension of role ambiguity as a positive issue , masking or even creating opportunities. The survivor, one who typically has more than 10 years of service as chair, is more likely to have been selected by an administrator and to belong to larger, stable departments. While some survivors provide organizational continuity and perspective, others have lost their capacity to enable others and need to be replaced. The transient is typically one who is elected to or has rotated into the position of department chair. The transient is typically just serving his or her time. The adversarial department chair typically emerges from an unhappy and contentious faculty and sees administrative decisions as being aimed at him or her personally.
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T. Kippenbrock, M. Fisher and G. Huster, authors in 1994 “Leadership and its Transition Among Nursing Administration Graduate Departments.” Abstract published in Journal of Advance Nursing, Volume 19, Issue 5.
The researchers surveyed nursing administration department chairs about their roles and their department functions. Chairs defined their roles mostly in the academic realm, and they were most satisfied with their role as teacher. They also reported that they lacked the necessary preparation and experiences in several academic and management functions. Furthermore, they expected their successors would need more experience than themselves for all functions of the chair, except teaching and advising students.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 27.
Kippenbrock, Fisher and Huster (1994) surveyed nursing department chairs about their roles and their department functions. Chairs defined their roles mostly in the academic realm, and they were most satisfied with their role as teacher. Chairs also reported that they lacked the necessary preparation and experiences in several academic and management functions. Furthermore, chairs expected their successors would need more experience than themselves for all functions of the chair, except teaching and advising students.
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Cynthia Pavett and Alan Lau authors of 1983 “Managerial Work: The Influence of Hierarchical Level and Functional Specialty.” Published in “Academy of Management Journal,” Volume 26, Page 175.
According to Mintzberg (1980), leadership involves interpersonal relationships, motivational activities and an integration of individual and organizational goals. Because lower level managers are closer to the actual supervision of nonmanagerial personnel, these behaviors should be relatively important at this level.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 5, page 81.
According to Mintzberg (1980), leadership involves interpersonal relationships, motivational activities and an integration of individual and organizational goals. Because lower level managers are closer to the actual supervision of nonmanagerial personnel, leadership behavior should be relatively important at this level. (Pavett & Lau, 1983)
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Wayne Perry, abstract for doctoral dissertation in 2000, “The Role of the Academic Physical Therapy Department Chair as Perceived by Physical Therapy Teaching Faculty and Chairs.”
The results of this study indicate that physical therapy unit administrators tend to be older, more experienced, carry higher rank and do less clinical practice than teaching faculty. Important roles of the department chair tended to focus on faculty and department administration, whereas least important roles tended to focus on the student. The most important roles selected by administrators and teaching faculty included acting as faculty advocate to higher administration, preparing the physical therapy department budget, evaluating faculty performance to determine tenure and promotions, and monitoring accreditation standards.
Muma, 2004 dissertation “Use of Mintzberg’s Model … Health Profession Administrators.” Chapter 2, page 29.
Finally, Perry’s (2000) …. Physical therapy unit administrators tend to be older, more experienced, carry higher academic rank and do less clinical practice than teaching faculty. The more important roles of the department chair focused on faculty and department administration, whereas least important roles tended to focus on the student. The most important roles selected by administrators and teaching faculty included acting as faculty advocate to higher administration, preparing the physical therapy department budget, evaluating faculty performance to determine tenure and promotion , and monitoring accreditation standards.
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