Emilia Șercan

Emilia Șercan is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest, PhD in Communication sciences, and an investigative journalist with over 25 years of experience. Her research focuses on two main areas: forms of control in the press and academic integrity. She published her doctoral thesis - defended in 2013 at the University of Bucharest - under the title "The Cult of Secrecy. Mechanisms of Censorship in the Communist Press" (Polirom Publishing House, Iași). Both academic and journalistic interest in the field of integrity has materialized in two books, "The Doctorate Factory or How the Foundations of a Nation Are Undermined",(Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2017), and "The Ponta Case. Reconstructing the Most Infamous Plagiarism in Romanian History" (Humanitas Publishing House, Bucharest, 2022).

Șercan has received several fellowships, both as a professor and a journalist, scholarship holder of the U.S. Department of State at the University of Ohio (2016), French State Scholarship at Stendhal University Grenoble 3 (2012 - 2013), and Freedom House Scholarship in the USA (2004).

As an investigative journalist, she has exposed dozens of plagiarism cases in the doctoral theses of various Romanian politicians and public figures, investigations that led to profound reforms in doctoral studies.

Over the years, Șercan has won several professional and academic awards, such as Journalist of the Year (2016), Freedom of Expression Award (2016), "Ion Rațiu" Journalism Award (2016), Bologna Professor of the Year (2017), "Nicolae Iorga" Award from the Romanian Society of Historical Sciences (2018), European Network for Academic Integrity Award (2019), Social Dialogue Group Award (2020), and Timișoara Society Award (2023).