Madonna G. Constantine was an American psychology and education professor who formerly taught at Teachers College, Columbia University. She was fired in 2008 on grounds of plagiarism.
Education and early career
Constantine earned a B.S. in psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana in 1984, an M.S. from the same institution in counseling, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Memphis. She worked at the University of Texas at Austin for five years at the Counseling and Mental Health Center before becoming the director of the Temple University vocational counseling center.
She joined Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1998, earned tenure in 2001, and (after a brief interlude at Ohio State University) became a full professor in 2003.
Constantine's primary areas of research were racial micro aggressions and multicultural competence, topics on which she published frequently with Teachers College colleague Derald Wing Sue.
Noose incident
In October 2007, Constantine, an African-American, received national attention when a noose was discovered hanging on the door of her office. Students rallied on Teachers College steps and walked through Columbia's campus denouncing racism at a press conference, where Constantine read from a statement. Her friend and collaborator Derald Wing Sue and her faculty colleague Marie L. Miville strongly supported her.
On October 12, the American Counseling Association offered Constantine their full support. In November 2007, Sharon Brehm, president of the American Psychological Association (APA) deplored "another hate crime on campus", stating, "[M]y colleague Dr.Constantine is particularly knowledgeable about the various experiences that produce an individual who engages in hate crimes. I hope that her many years of research, teaching and advocating for cultural competence can help her to withstand this unconscionable attack."
A day after Teachers College officials were asked for security tapes that could help identify the suspect in the October 9, 2007 noose incident, they agreed to release them. Originally, the college had said it would do so only if the tapes were subpoenaed.
There were allegations that Constantine placed the noose on her own door in an attempt to fabricate an apparent hate crime, or that her friends were involved in placing the noose. In March 2008, a grand jury was convened to investigate the noose incident.
Plagiarism and dismissal
In December 2005, Constantine stepped down as department chair, and faculty elected Suniya S. Luthar to replace her. Early in Luthar's tenure as chair, she was approached by a former Teachers College faculty member as well as some students, all claiming that Constantine had used their scholarly writings without attribution. Luthar brought these complaints to Darlyne Bailey-then Dean at Teachers College. Bailey (a close friend of Constantine), reportedly sought to protect Constantine's job at Teachers College despite her own conflict of interest. Bailey forced Luthar to step down as department chair, and as the new chair, appointed Derald Wing Sue — another close friend and collaborator of Constantine.
In August 2006, a law firm was hired by Teachers College's new President Susan Fuhrman to investigate allegations against Constantine. According to reports, the investigation was handled by a law firm rather than a faculty committee because of administration fears that a misstep might leave the college vulnerable to a lawsuit. In May 2007 (a few months before the noose incident), Constantine filed a lawsuit against Luthar alleging defamation, libel and slander and asked for $100,000 in damages. When the noose appeared, an unidentified individual reportedly named Luthar as a possible suspect to the police and media. Several weeks later, Constantine quietly withdrew the lawsuit against Luthar, without explanation.