CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, professor has resigned as a department chairman amid academic integrity questions, UNC officials said.
Julius Nyang'oro, who headed the Department of African and Afro-American Studies, resigned from the position after reports in The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported raised questions about his connections to football players and the athletic department, the newspaper said Friday.
UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement Nyang'oro resigned as the university reviews "possible irregularities with courses that included undergraduate students."
Nyang'oro will still teach at UNC, with his salary cut $12,000 to $159,000.
Nyang'oro missed what the newspaper called a "blatant" case of plagiarism by one football player, who later received an F in the course from the university's honor court. He allowed incoming freshman Marvin Austin, a football team recruit, to take a 400-level class taught by Nyang'oro before he took introductory classes, including remedial writing, and Austin got a B-plus in the class, the newspaper said.
Both players were kicked off the team last year following an NCAA investigation into academic misconduct and impermissible benefits from sports agents and their intermediaries, the newspaper said.
The newspaper reported last week Nyang'oro had hired a sports agent to teach a summer class this year without telling his boss about the agent's profession. No football players enrolled in the class, the athletic department said.
