Chris Spence

He was the darling of the media and his fellow educators – a brilliant, charismatic, caring educator who was thought to have brought positive change in his role as director of Canada’s largest school board. Then, just last week, Chris Spence was discovered to have plagiarized sections of an op ed piece he wrote for the Toronto Star. Shock and disappointment followed, as did further allegations of plagiarism. By Thursday, Spence had resigned. Despite the blanket coverage, it has been hard to find the heart of this story – how a man of his stature and accomplishment could fall into such a basic trap. In this exclusive, up-to-the minute read, Star reporter Louise Brown digs deep into the story to give Star Dispatches readers just that – a clear and compelling account of the fall of a major public figure.


Star Dispatches is a weekly series of quality journalism in ebook form from the newsroom of the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper.