Wal-Mart heiress Elizabeth Paige Laurie voluntarily surrendered her USC degree and returned her diploma, concluding the university's investigation into allegations surrounding her time at the university, a Sept. 30 university press release stated.
Michael Jackson, vice president of student affairs and enrollment services, declined to state whether the investigation's conclusion had caused Laurie to give back her degree, or if Laurie's actions pre-empted the conclusion of the investigation.
"It's a private matter between her and the university, so I can't comment on the specifics," Jackson said. "The statement speaks for itself."
Laurie graduated in May 2004 with a degree in communication from the USC Annenberg School for Communication.
Geoffrey Baum, assistant dean of public affairs for the Annenberg School for Communication, also declined to comment, citing privacy restrictions.
The three-sentence statement, released Sept. 30, noted that Laurie is no longer considered a graduate of USC.
Laurie allegedly paid roommate Elena Martinez an estimated $20,000 over three and a half years to complete homework assignments and other academic tasks. The allegations made by Martinez originally aired Nov. 19, 2004 during an ABC "20/20" segment on cheating. This prompted a university review of the charges made against Laurie.
In a Daily Trojan article published Dec. 1, 2004, Jackson said that the investigation would encompass the actions of both Laurie and Martinez. Jackson refused to comment Tuesday regarding Martinez's involvement, noting that she left the university years ago.
The past article also noted that the investigation would be led by Denzil Suite, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, and Raquel Torres-Retana, director of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards.
Jackson has also said in the past that Laurie's alleged actions shouldn't harm the reputation of the university.
"If the allegations turn out to be true, it reflects on the individuals, not USC," Jackson was quoted as saying.
Laurie's parents, Nancy and Bill Laurie, relinquished naming rights for the University of Missouri's basketball arena after the allegations surfaced. The arena's name was soon changed from Paige Sports Arena to Mizzou Arena.
The naming rights had been given to the Lauries after they donated $25 million toward the construction of the $75 million arena.
Elizabeth Laurie is still the namesake for the "E. Paige Laurie Professorship" at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Greg Jones, director of development at the veterinary school, said a minimum donation of $550,000 would be required to name a professorship.
Jones said that to his knowledge, the Lauries have not been asked to relinquish the naming rights for the professorship.
Christian Basi, spokesman for the University of Missouri, said, "We are very grateful for the donations that the Laurie family has given to the university," but declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Laurie because she is not a student of the university.
When asked if the university would ask a donor to relinquish naming rights if the circumstances surrounding the name changed, he said: "That's not something that I could say yes or no on one way or the other."
Neither Jones nor Basi could think of any link between Elizabeth Paige Laurie and the University of Missouri other than the professorship.
Her parents are also the owners of Paige Sports Entertainment, which owns the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues hockey team.
Her grandfather is Bud Walton, the co-founder of Wal-Mart.
