The dean at Northwestern University's journalism school, John Lavine, is being taken to task for his use of anonymous quotes in two introductory letters for the school's alumni magazine last year.

Last week, a column in The Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper, called his use of an anonymous source into question. Following the column's publication, written by senior David Spett, a firestorm of media coverage has ensued over the journalism ethics practised by the dean, and on Tuesday 16 members of Medill School of Journalism's faculty released a statement saying that the “matter has become a crisis for the school.”

To date, the story has been covered by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, the Poynter Institute's Jim Romenesko, United Press International, Editor & Publisher, National Public Radio, U.S. News & World Report, the Chicago Reader, mediabistro and others.

The quote in question reads: “I came to Medill because I want to inform people and make things better. Journalism is the best way for me to do that, but I sure felt good about this class. It is one of the best I've taken, and I learned many things in it that apply as much to truth-telling in journalism as to this campaign to save teenage drivers,” which, Lavine wrote, “a Medill junior told me.”

Spett contacted all 29 students in the class Lavine referred to, and all denied saying the quote, even when he promised them anonymity.

Lavine told the Tribune last week that the quotes “came from real people,” and defended his use of an anonymous source to promote a class he was touting to alumni.

“Context is all-important. I wasn't doing a news story. I wasn't covering the news,” Lavine told the Tribune. “When I write news stories, I am as careful and thorough about sources as anyone you will find. ... This is not a news story. This is a personal letter.” He also told the Tribune that “It never dawned on me that I would have reason to keep them” and that “I am not about to defend my veracity.”

Lavine told Spett that the quote had come from an e-mail, and said that “Whether they remember it or not, or told you or not, I see so many of these (e-mails) that I often don't remember.”

Students, faculty and alumni have protested his position, saying that as the dean of one of the top journalism schools in the world, he should be held to the highest of journalistic standards.

“It is sort of ironic. He is the masthead of Medill and so he should be held to the most stringent standards,” Allison Bond, a Medill senior, told The Tribune.

In an editorial, the Chicago-Sun Times called on Lavine to produce his notes or have the school's IT department retrieve the e-mail in question. The 16 faculty members agreed, and stated so in a letter:

“This matter has become a crisis for the school. The principles of truthfulness and transparency in reporting are at the core of Medill's professional and academic mission. The dean's Feb. 14 memorandum in which he offered his explanation of events to Medill faculty is at best inadequate. It says that the quote at issue is essentially the same as that used by a student in an online video, and that the quote at issue is therefore a 'fact.' But of course the language used in the video is not the same as that in the contested quote, nor is the speaker in the video the unidentified source of the contested quote. Finally, the student in the video is talking about a different Medill class than the one that is the subject of the contested quote.”

However, the school's Web site lists 55 full-time faculty members (not counting Lavine), some of which have filled the Tribune's Eric Zorn in on why they did not sign the faculty letter.

"John Lavine is ethical and meticulous. The quotes in question sound very much like quotes in conversations I've personally had with numerous students and alums. I am a strict constructionist about quotes. So is he. Dean Lavine would not make up quotes. I cannot understand why my colleagues are assuming the worst," Janice Castro, a senior director of Graduate Education and Teaching Excellence and assistant professor, told Zorn.

As of Wednesday, some people were calling for Lavine to be fired, while others continued to staunchly defend him.

• Note: the author holds a Master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism. Erina Lin, another SFN Blog contributor, holds a Master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the Medill School of Journalism.