The Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't care about academic fraud

Sad, but true, there are at least two cases of very prominent Cincinnati personalities who have been caught lying about their academic records, and in both cases, the Cincinnati Enquirer ignored the story.

The first blatant example goes back to 2006, during the GOP primary race between Jean Schmidt and Bob McEwen. Schmidt was caught red-handed in a lie about having two college degrees. She was later blasted by the Ohio Election Commission for her unethical behavior. And while the Enquirer covered the facts surrounding the OEC's findings, they refused to break the story in the midst of the election cycle. They spiked it and 700WLW ended up with the scoop.

Still, Schmidt won the race, largely because the Enquirer ho-hummed the entire affair.

The second story is well documented below, but again, the Enquirer totally ignored the entire story. Not a word was published about Phil Cox's proven academic fraud (and other dubious claims, such as getting shot while guarding Nixon as a secret service agent).

Instead, the Enquirer seems to endorse outlandish academic claims as long as they come from women and minorities.

It should be noted that a lot of the investigative work on both of the cases - both Jean Schmidt and Phil Cox - was done by a Cincinnati Private Investigator firm called Accelerated Solutions. Without their hard work and ability to get information, none of this stuff would have ever come to light.

Press Release sent to Cincinnati Media 2:15pm Friday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2009

Group of UC students, alumni to protest conferment of honorary degree on former university trustee Phillip R. Cox

CINCINNATI, OH ------ One day before a commencement ceremony at the University of Cincinnati that will confer an honorary doctorate degree on Phillip R. Cox, a group of students and alumni are demanding the school halt the controversial award.

Citing evidence that Mr. Cox is a proven academic fraud, the group says that UC’s statement that Mr. Cox exemplifies the highest purposes and ideals of the university is damaging to the reputation of the school, and by extension, current students and alumni.

The group’s website, found at http://ucacademicfraud.blogspot.com contains video evidence and links that prove Mr. Cox has fraudulently claimed to have earned a dual major at Xavier University, a masters in psychology, and a law degree from the University of Michigan.

“This isn’t about Phil Cox, that’s a settled issue. It’s a question of whether UC officials are making the right decision on behalf of their students and alumni,” said group spokesman Brian Burgess. “At the very least, our group will make open records requests for documents related to the decision to award this honorary degree.”

The group is asking fellow students and alumni to use the website contact form to join the group and lend additional voices to the effort protesting the University’s decision to award a degree to Mr. Cox.

The following evidence and documents are available to members of the media upon request:

1. Nine videos of introductions of Mr. Cox which include fraudulent academic claims, where Mr. Cox was in the audience and took the podium immediately thereafter
2. Eight newspaper articles or brochures where Mr. Cox claims at least one degree from Xavier University and/or University of Michigan Law School
3. A letter signed by Mr. Cox stating that he is a former Secret Service agent
4. A cease-and-desist letter from an the accrediting body of Certified Financial Planners demanding that Mr. Cox stop using the CFP designation, as he had not earned it
5. A document where Mr. Cox falsely claimed to be a CFP
6. Several newspaper articles or other announcements claiming that Mr. Cox was a member of the Washington Redskins and/or the United States Secret Service

Again, the case against Mr. Cox is rock-solid. The real questions should be directed at the University of Cincinnati, which either failed to do due diligence or willfully ignored the facts and lowered the school’s ethical standards.

“If UC goes forward with their plans, they are sending a message to current students that it’s OK to lie about your qualifications and academic achievements,” said Burgess.

-30-

UC Students / Alumni Oppose Honorary Degree for Phil Cox

Just to be sure everyone knows what this website is all about, we'll make it perfectly clear:

Tomorrow, Saturday, December 12, 2009, the University of Cincinnati is going to confer an honorary doctorate degree on former UC Trustee Phillip R. Cox.

But Phillip R. Cox is a complete and total academic fraud (see previous posts for video evidence).

Cox has claimed he graduated from XU with a dual major. He has claimed he holds a law degree from Michigan. He claims he was in the US Secret Service, and he claims he played football for the Washington Redskins.

None of that is true.

And yet, in UC's own words, Mr. Cox is receiving this honorary doctorate degree because he "exemplifies the highest purposes and ideals of the University."

Really?

Is that the message UC wants to send to its students, past, present and future?

The full image below is just one example of dozens of Phil Cox's deception. It gets far worse. And if the mainstream media would like additional videos (we have 9 in all), articles (a dozen), or other evidence (letters written to and from Mr. Cox), we will happily supply it all.

Just a few additional documents to satisfy the doubters are below:

Phil Cox: Fact vs. Fiction

While Phil Cox is generally well known in the Cincinnati business community, he is not a household name - yet. But while many Cincinnatians may not know him, they have certainly felt his impact on their daily lives.

Phil Cox has served as chairman of the board of Duke Energy, Cincinnati Bell, Diebold and many other well known Cincinnati companies. Most frightening of all, however, is the fact that this fraudster is on the Federal Reserve Board of Cleveland.

Yes, dear reader, Phil Cox has influence on federal banking policy.

But those board seats, while certainly part of his current resume, were gained through deliberate deception and dishonesty related to inflating his past resume.

Here is a quick comparison of some of the false claims made by Mr. Cox. The facts are in parenthesis:

• Graduated from XU with a double major in psychology and political science (False. XU confirms he never graduated. Bill Sloat's blog first broke this scandal back in 2007).
• Earned a masters degree in psychology (False. That's tough to do if you don't have an undergraduate degree first).
• Earned a juris doctor degree from Univ. of Michigan Law School (Again, false. No undergrad degree, no admission to law school).
• Played football for the XU (False. Not listed on any XU roster).
  
• Played two years in the NFL for the Washington Redskins (False. The team has no record of this, he is not listed on any roster).
• Served for three years as a United States Secret Service agent (False. The USSS has no record of such service and denies the claim).
• Took a bullet in the shoulder for President Nixon (False.)

Of course, many are still skeptical that Phil Cox could or would have made any of the claims listed above.

You don't have to take our word for it. You can watch the videos in the previous post, but keep in mind those are just the tip of iceberg. In our possession, we have the following evidence and will release it to any member of the Cincinnati media upon request:

• 9 total videos of Phil Cox being introduced as a graduate of XU, and/or Michigan law school, and/or playing football for the Redskins, and/or working for the US Secret Service, and /or having a master's in psychology. When he takes the podium following the introduction, not one time does he ever correct the introduction.
  
• Dozens of newspaper clips (scanned and original) claiming some or all the above
• A letter signed by Phil Cox in which he claims to have worked for the US Secret Service
• A bio on Cox Financial letterhead in which he claims various academic degrees and having played NFL football for the Washington Redskins

There are also several recent articles in which Mr. Cox makes false claims about his background. Here are some examples:

Lebanon Western Star, 6/23/2005: Cox shaping business, academic worlds.

Excerpt:

Cox turned down other scholarship offers and stayed home to play running back on the football team at Xavier University, while studying psychology and political science.

“I had little interest in finance,” he said.

After graduation, Cox applied for a sales job at a prominent Cincinnati company he declines to identify.

Cincinnati SmartBusiness Magazine, December 2009: Goal Keeper - How Phillip Cox pushes his employees at Cox Financial Corp. to continuously improve themselves and the company

Excerpt:

Education: Graduated Xavier University, holds Doctorate of Letters degree from the College of Mount St. Joseph and Cincinnati Technical College

What was your first job, and what did you learn from it?

General Foods. I learned that I didn’t understand marketing at all.

Students join our group

After quick consultations with friends, family and colleagues, we quickly realized that the UC decision to award an honorary degree to Phil Cox is not just an affront to alumni, but to undergraduate students at the university as well.

Phillip R. Cox built his alleged financial empire based in part on his academic credentials. As you can see from these first two videos, Mr. Cox has claimed, on more than one occasion, the following:

• To have graduated from Xavier University in 1968
• To have double majored in psychology and political science
• To have earned a masters degree in psychology in 1970
• To have graduated from the Univ. of Michigan Law School in 1971
• To have worked for the Secret Service for three years

According to the voluminous amount of information we have received in the past few weeks, it is clear that none of the above claims by Mr. Cox are true.

In this first video, Mr. Cox claims he attended the University of Michigan Law School. He quotes a latin phrase that means "silence gives consent."



If UC awards a degree to Mr. Cox and says nothing about his academic fraud, then UC, through it's silence, is giving consent to other students to commit academic fraud.

In this second video, Mr. Cox is introduced at a local church back in 1987, and his bio is read before he takes the podium.

Judge the evidence for yourself, and remember, these videos are only the tip of the iceberg. More to come.

UC to award Honorary Doctorate to Phillip R. Cox

Welcome to the University of Cincinniati Academic Fraud Lawsuit blog!

We are a growing group of UC alumni who are appalled at our alma mater's decision to award an honorary degree to proven academic fraudster Phillip R. Cox of Cox Financial Corporation. According to the official announcement by UC:

The honorary degree recognizes individuals who have attained extraordinary distinction and who exemplify the highest purposes and ideals of the university (emphasis ours).

We, the Alumni of the University of Cincinnati, believe the school's decision to honor an academic fraud such as Mr. Cox is both an insult and injury to all of us.

The school has a duty to its alumni to uphold the standards it proclaims. Failure to do so devalues the institution and degrades all UC alumni.

If the school decides to proceed in perpetrating this travesty upon it's alumni, we intend to pursue damages against the Board of Trustees, which, ironically at one time, included Mr. Cox himself.

More to come.