Christine O'Donnell didn't go to Claremont Graduate University either (update*)

Greg Sargent at the Washington Post's Plum Line has a story today that says Christine O'Donnell, Republican Senate candidate in Delaware, embellished her online resume to say she'd studied at Oxford University, when she'd actually taken a course from an outfit called the Phoenix Institute in a space rented from Oxford.

The same resume lists O'Donnell as having attended Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. The claim seemed suspicious since O'Donnell had yet to receive her undergraduate degree, from Farleigh Dickinson University, until last summer. So I asked CGU's public relations officer, Rod Leveque, if the school had any record of O'Donnell attending classes there. His response:

In short, no. Claremont Graduate University has no student or education record for an individual named Christine O'Donnell.

In 2002, O'Donnell was listed as a "Lincoln Fellow" at the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank also based in Claremont. However, the institute is not affiliated with the Claremont Graduate University or any of the other Claremont Colleges. One of the Claremont Institute's fellows, Harry Jaffa, did teach at the Claremont Graduate University back when it was known as Claremont Graduate School.

 Incidentally, the 2002 entry for O'Donnell on the Claremont Institute website describes her as a graduate of Farleigh Dickinson University.

*Update: Greg Sarget just updated his Plum Line blog with a statement from O'Donnell in which she says the LinkedIn profile is not hers. Here's the statement:

"There have been reports that I have released false information on a LinkedIn profile under my name. This is categorically untrue. I never established a LinkedIn profile, or authorized anyone to do so on my behalf. I have always been clear about my educational background. I completed undergraduate work at Fairleigh Dickenson University. After my undergraduate work, I completed a summer program run by the Phoenix Institute, at the Institute's Oxford University location. The Institute runs programs around the world at various universities, and participants study issues of human dignity. I also completed a Lincoln Fellowship at the Claremont Institute in Claremont, CA. We would encourage LinkedIn to remove this profile.