Free Press review surfaces errors in degree claims by 2 state lawmakers in bios

At least two Michigan lawmakers included errors about their academic degrees in their online biographies, an investigation by the Detroit Free Press found.

Reporters attempted to verify the higher education credentials claimed in caucus biographies by 148 state lawmakers — 38 senators and 110 representatives — charged with representing Michiganders in creating state policy and setting the state's budget. The Free Press was able to verify credentials for all but two lawmakers.

Claims made by two House Republicans in their legislative biographies turned out to be false.

State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, claimed in his biography to have received a degree in marina management from Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City. The college confirmed that Roth attended a recreational boating management program from fall 1988 to fall 1991, but said Roth never earned a degree.

Roth's lack of a verifiable degree was news to him — he said he received a diploma, and had photos of himself at a commencement ceremony.

"I was definitely under the impression that I had graduated for 34 years, until now," Roth said.

Behind the story: Why the Free Press decided to verify Michigan lawmakers’ education credentials

State Rep. Gina Johnsen, R-Lake Odessa, claimed in her legislative biography to have master's and bachelor's degrees in economics from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. But a spokesperson for the college said that the school's records indicated that Johnsen just graduated with a bachelor's degree and a double major in Russian area studies and economics. Wellesley is an undergraduate institution where students can earn a four-year bachelor's degree in over 50 majors, according to the school's website.

Johnsen's legislative director said the addition of a master's on her biography was an error and that the biography was changed after a Free Press reporter inquired.

The Free Press' check of academic credentials was spurred by a rash of media reports around falsified academic credentials: U.S. Rep. George Santos is now infamous for lying about, among other false boasts, earning degrees from Baruch College and New York University. Closer to home, Shannon Mayfield, a former East Lansing High School principal, was found to have fabricated transcripts showing he earned a doctorate from Wayne State University.

Largely, state lawmakers are telling the truth about where they attended college and graduate school, if they claimed a degree. At least 20 did not claim any degree in their biographies, and a college degree is not a requirement for state office. The analysis of degrees by the Free Press also captured a snapshot of the Legislature as a whole, showing trends in where lawmakers received their degrees.

False claims and gray areas

The Free Press used both Roth's and Johnsen's biographies on their House Republicans page, a website maintained by the GOP caucus of the state House.

House GOP spokesman Jeremiah Ward said the biographies on the caucus website are compiled with input from lawmakers. Spokespeople for other caucuses explained similar processes.

"Our team puts those together in consultation with the legislators and the legislators sign off on the final product," he said.

Roth's biography page read, "Roth graduated with a degree in marina management from Northwestern Michigan College." Similarly, Roth's campaign website claims he graduated with a degree in marina management in 1989.

Roth wrote in an emailed statement through Ward that he used his expertise from Northwestern Michigan College to start a marina management company in northern Michigan, where he has been a harbor master for 29 years.

He said he spent an hour and a half at the college trying to sort out confusion over his degree, and believes the error has something to do with transfer credits not transferring properly. He's working with the college to resolve the issue, he said.

Johnsen's biography page, before Free Press reporters reached out, read: "Johnsen holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Economics from Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA." On other websites, Johnsen does not make the same claim. Her LinkedIn page declares a bachelor's degree and does not mention a master's.

Johnsen's legislative director, Josh Haley, said that Johnsen received a bachelor's from Wellesley and thanked the Free Press for bringing the mistake to their attention. He said a former staffer put the biography page together.

One lawmaker's education claim also represented a gray area for Free Press reporters.

The caucus biography for state Rep. Ken Borton, R-Gaylord, says he "studied Biblical counseling at Liberty University." His office provided copies of two diplomas, one from the Liberty Home Bible Institute and one from Liberty University presented "upon the recommendation of the Liberty Home Bible Institute," which is a discontinued home study certificate program.

A spokesperson for Liberty University said there is no record of Borton attending the university, but the university no longer has access to records from the Bible Institute and Borton's diplomas look like those the Bible Institute used to confer.

In a statement emailed by Ward, Borton wrote, "I studied Biblical counseling through Liberty University’s Liberty Home Bible Institute. The university recognized my achievement with a diploma of advanced Biblical studies, and I’ll always be grateful for what I learned through the program.”

Borton's office also provided photos of his diplomas. When somebody raised it on Facebook in 2017, he responded with photographs of himself at what appeared to be a graduation ceremony.

Others were more precise in writing about their education if they studied in a program outside a university's traditional credit system.

State Rep. Greg Alexander, R-Carsonville, claims in his caucus biography that he earned "certificates of completion" from Hillsdale College, a private Christian college in southern Michigan. A college spokesperson said it could not confirm Alexander's certificates, adding that those certificates are earned for completing free, not-for-credit online courses.

Alexander said he took the free online courses focused on the U.S. Constitution and American history about a decade ago. The courses entailed watching a series of presentations from a professor followed by a quiz and then a test at the end of the course to receive a certificate.

He said he didn’t think anyone would have the impression that he attended Hillsdale College as part of a degree program but that it was important for voters to know he took the online courses. No one had ever asked him about the certificates mentioned on his bio before the Free Press reached out.

“I don’t think anybody takes it for more than a certificate,” he said. “It just shows you’re committed to understanding.”

Where did lawmakers get their degrees?

Lawmakers attended schools across the world, from England (Rep. Natalie Price, D-Berkley) to California. But the majority — nearly 100 out of 138 lawmakers — attended a Michigan university, college or community college at some point.

In the rivalry between blue and green, more Michigan lawmakers earned degrees from Michigan State University than the University of Michigan: 27 hold degrees from MSU, 19 hold degrees from University of Michigan. Some of the lawmakers counted hold degrees from both schools.

Law degrees, by the way, are popular among politicians: At least eight lawmakers have their Juris Doctor.

Eleven attended a community college at one point in their postsecondary career.

Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com and Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Free Press review surfaces errors in degree claims by 2 state lawmakers