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.
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...
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