Disciplinary action for Nanjing University professor accused of plagiarism

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Nanjing University removed 39-year-old sociology professor Liang Ying following an investigation into academic misconduct.

The professor, who has authored over 120 papers, was accused of plagiarism in October. She later withdrew hundreds of her published journal articles and admitted to academic misconduct on October 24.

The disappearance of her papers online earned her the nickname Professor 404 in Chinese social media, named after the 404 error messages that shows up when a web page can no longer be found.

The investigation discovered that her work had been either plagiarized or published in more than one journal. Over 15 of them are fraudulent, according to China Youth Paper.

A list of the disciplinary action being taken against Liang, seen at a conference, November 12, 2018 /Photo via China Youth Daily

In a photo spreading online, a list of the disciplinary action being taken against Liang includes: an administrative warning on her record, revoking her postgraduate tutor qualifications, cancelling her Yangtze River Scholarship awards, along with a proposal to revoke her qualifications as a teacher. The photo says Liang had "seriously" violated "academic ethics."

After the scandal lit up, Liang was nicknamed Professor 404 on Chinese social media. /Photo via The Paper

After getting her master's degree from Suzhou University and completing her postdoctoral research at Peking University and the University of Chicago, Liang joined Nanjing University in east China's Jiangsu Province in 2009. Six years later, Liang was given the Yangtze River Scholars award, one of the most prestigious awards by China's Education Ministry for young scholars.

Liang told The Paper, a news outlet website in China that she had decided to resign from the university on October 26 because of pressure from the media, the public and her colleagues, many of which were what she said "vicious attacks."

(Cover Photo: Nanjing University /VCG Photo)