In recent days, the Gazette has printed various letters from individuals who are disturbed by the story of the honorary degree awarded by Smith College to Evelyn Harris. Although I retired from Smith after teaching at the college for nearly five decades, and although I was once a member of the college’s committee on honorary degrees, I have never met Ms. Harris, nor do I have any special knowledge of the events that led to the relinquishing of Ms. Harris’s honorary degree.

I do have a copy of the letter that the president of the college, Sarah Willie-LeBreton, sent to the college community to explain the situation, and I do have long experience dealing with the very thorny problem of plagiarism in the academy. The president states that Ms. Harris “borrowed much of her speech to graduates and their families from the commencement speeches of others without the attribution typical of and central to the ideals of academic integrity.”

Those are not empty words. We all of us “borrow” the words and ideas of colleagues and others with knowledge greater than ours. But when we borrow to any significant degree, we attribute those words and ideas to their creators. It is a strength to build on the words and ideas of others; it is honest to honor them via attribution.

The president goes on to say: “In conversations about this after the event, Ms. Harris was forthcoming about her choices while also acknowledging that she sought to infuse the words of others with her own emotional valence. With appreciation for the requirement of academic integrity so central to the values of Smith, Ms. Harris has chosen to relinquish her honorary degree.” Smith College did not revoke Ms. Harris’s degree. Ms. Harris, with grace and understanding, decided to relinquish it.

Finally, the president wrote: “It is with gratitude and respect for the long and generative contributions Evelyn Harris has made to music and culture, both nationally and internationally, that I have respectfully accepted her decision.”

Despite these highly respectful words, I am sure that this episode has been painful for Ms. Harris and for her friends and admirers. But “academic integrity” is something that lies at the very heart of institutions such as Smith College; it is also something that is extremely fragile. At a time when academic institutions are under attack, it seems especially important to protect and defend that fundamental principle.

Peter Bloom lives in Northampton.