In recognition of their outstanding contributions to promoting academic integrity at the University at Buffalo, Beth Carpenter and Mary Kamela have been honored with a 2025 Distinction in Academic Integrity Award by the Office of Academic Integrity (OAI).
Walter Hakala, professor of English
Their journey began last spring when Walter Hakala, professor of English, approached the Libraries for help. The open-source academic integrity quiz he used with his students had become unavailable, and he needed a new solution. Rising to the challenge, Beth and Mary researched the original material and used LibWizard, the Libraries’ tutorial platform, to design an improved UB-specific tutorial on plagiarism and proper citation. Their version surpassed the original — one familiar user declared it better than Cornell’s.
Professor Hakala was so impressed with the tutorial that he quickly circulated it among humanities faculty and forwarded it to OAI. Coincidentally, OAI was seeking new materials for its updated remediation course on citation practices and invited Beth and Mary to adapt their work. They accepted the opportunity, helping to expand the tutorial’s reach across the university.
To celebrate the International Day of Action for Academic Integrity in October, Beth and Mary created and led a creative and engaging workshop titled “I Know You Get Déjà Vu: Investigating Academic Integrity Issues through Pop Culture.” In it, they very cleverly used pop culture examples, such as Ed Sheeran’s copyright lawsuit, to inspire discussion about academic integrity topics, including plagiarism and fair use.
Beth and Mary will present their innovative workshop at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in June, the largest gathering of library professionals in the world.
Their work exemplifies the values UB seeks to elevate through the Distinction in Academic Integrity Award, which celebrates individuals and programs that model integrity in extraordinary ways.
Please join us in congratulating Beth Carpenter and Mary Kamela for this well-deserved recognition!