Emory Professor of Law and Senior Fellow Michael Broyde was acquitted of the charge that he violated Emory Policies regarding research misconduct when he was found to have been using a fake online identity to tout his academic writings this past April.
The Wheel reported in April 2013 that Broyde used the fake identity of an invented Rabbi Hershel Goldwasser to publish in scholarly journals and praise his own work.
The article added that Broyde used Goldwasser’s name to obtain access to the listserv of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, a rival rabbinic group to Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), of which Broyde was a member.
Broyde was initially caught when the Emory University Internet Protocol (IP) address of Goldwasser’s articles proved to be the same as Broyde’s computer at Emory.
The University assembled a special Institutional Review and Investigation Committee to review Broyde’s conduct in accordance with the University’s regulations, according to a Dec. 2013 University press release.
The committee consisted of three faculty members: two from the Emory School of Law and the other from Emory College of Arts and Sciences.
When questioned by the Committee, Broyde admitted to allegations of using the Goldwasser pseudonym to post journals and blog comments on his own work, according to the press release.
However, he denied further allegations of using a second pseudonym and “communicating pseudonymously with reporters.”
The committee closed its investigation and concluded that Broyde was not in violation of Emory policies regarding allegations of research misconduct because he used his “pseudonym exclusively for activities in his rabbinic capacities, not in his scholarly capacities connected with Emory University,” according to the press release.
Following Broyde’s initial discovery, he was asked to take a leave of absence from his position as a judge on the Beth Din of America, the leading rabbinic court in America, according to an April 15 article in Tablet Magazine.
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin, president of the RCA, the organization of which Broyde is no longer a judge, told Tablet that he found Broyde’s actions “disturbing” and asked him to take an indefinite leave of absence.
The University press release included a statement from Broyde addressing students and colleagues in the Emory School of Law and College of Arts and Sciences.
In the statement, Broyde expressed his regret for his actions and apologized for the way his work has come to “reflect adversely on Emory University.”
– By Naomi Maisel
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
