The plagiarism allegation against Dexter Suggs, the interim Little Rock school superintendent, has drawn interest from education bloggers around the country and they’ve added to the overdue scrutiny his resume didn’t receive when the Little Rock School Board relied on a search firm’s representation in hiring him.

For example, deutsch29, written by Meredith Schneider, a Louisiana educator, picks over some answers he gave in the reference check for the job. Schneider notes that Suggs seemed to avoid using the word “ethics” in a question related to his ethical qualifications. But there’s more.

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Writes deutsch29:

One Suggs accolade that caught my particular attention was Suggs as a “book author”:

Described as having a very strong background in curriculum and instruction with exceptional skills and understanding in the area of instructional technology (published books/articles in area of instructional technology and integration into the classroom)

Indeed, Suggs does identify himself as a book author (not “books,” but “book”), and it comes as no surprise that this book has the same title as his largely-stolen dissertation:

Book Author: The Impact of Middle School Principal Leadership on the Integration of Technology in Selected Middle Schools within the Indianapolis Public School District, @ Google Books

So, I looked up the entry on Google Books and found it to  nothing more than a dimensionless, image-enhancing shell published by no publisher, sold in no book store, and unavailable electronically. In fact, the only paper copy of Suggs’ “book” appears to be available from the Indiana Wesleyan University thesis/dissertation archives.

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She figures limited availability of something that includes what appear to be multiple copied passages from four sources is probably a good idea.

That reference check includes a letter from Suggs in which he touted the knowledge he’d gained through education and experience, which had allowed him to “become more diversified in many challenging ways.”

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One of three references listed by Suggs was Dr. Larry Lindsay, then chief of staff at Indiana Wesleyan University, which awarded Suggs his doctorate. He’s now the school’s provost and chief academic officer. I’ve sent him a note asking for comment.

From Suggs’ resume:

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