John Lavine, the dean at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism (my alma mater), is facing scrutiny over a series of anonymous quotes in an alumni magazine story he authored defending the school’s controversial curriculum overhaul.

“I sure felt good about this class. It is one of the best I’ve taken,” Lavine wrote, quoting an unnamed student. The supposed comment set off alarm bells for Northwestern senior David Spett, who decided to track down every single student in the aformentioned class. All 29 students denied being the source of the quote in question. A full-fledged journalism brouhaha has ensued. The Chicago Tribune describes the controversy:

Lavine, 67, told the Tribune on Wednesday that the quotes “came from real people,” though he couldn’t recall whether they were provided by e-mail or during face-to-face conversations.He defended his use of anonymous quotes by drawing a distinction between a news story and a “letter” to alumni in a magazine. “I am not about to defend my veracity,” he later said.
Questions about Lavine’s use of anonymous quotes prompted a lively debate in Professor Jack Doppelt’s media law and ethics class Wednesday, and in other Medill classrooms and hallways as word of the column spread.

Regardless of whether Lavine fabricated them, his decision to use anonymous quotes — that reinforced his own views in an active academic dispute — was ill-advised. Journalism schools like Medill instruct students to use unnamed sources sparingly, and only when absolutely necessary. Lavine would have been wise to follow his own school’s policy.