Chicago State official sues over allegations she plagarized UIC dissertation

A Chicago State University administrator is suing over claims she was falsely accused of plagiarizing her dissertation at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Angela M. Henderson filed a lawsuit July 21 in the Cook County Circuit Court against UIC's Board of Trustees, Lon S. Kaufman, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, and Karen J. Colley, dean of the graduate college.

According to the complaint, Henderson, the interim provost and senior vice president at Chicago State, received her doctoral degree from UIC in 2013.

She claims Chicago State administrators have been undermined and attacked by disgruntled faculty, one of whom allegedly downloaded her dissertation, filed a complaint with UIC accusing her of plagiarism for the purpose of injuring her reputation and then contacted Chicago Tribune reporter Jodi S. Cohen.

Kaufman and Colley are accused of violating Henderson's due process rights by failing to inform her there was a review of her dissertation. She also accuses them of violating the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act when they disclosed to Cohen a complaint had been filed about her dissertation.

Henderson claims the university officials' disclosure to Cohen resulted in a Jan. 14 front-page article, which was how she learned about the complaint and review of her dissertation.

The suit includes counts alleging false light and public disclosure of private facts.

She is seeking damages and is being represented in the case by attorneys Michael I. Leonard and Ethan E. White of Leonard Law Offices in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L007630.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.