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It does not appear that UCR asked Hedge Coke, who remains at the university, to verify her claims of Native American heritage when hiring her.

“The University is unaware of any state or federal law that requires prospective or current employees to provide evidence of their racial or ethnic heritage, and does not ask for such evidence,” said John Warren, UCR spokesman.

However, UCR negotiated a separation settlement in 2023 with another professor — Andrea Smith, an ethnic studies professor and leading voice on Indigenous feminism — after 13 professors alleged she made “fraudulent claims to Native American identity,” in violation of academic integrity.

According to UCR medical student and co-first author Maximillian Denys, this was a particularly significant result.

"We were hoping for positive spillover effects, like customers will be more environmentally conscious and consume less one-time use plastic or paper products," said Che, an associate professor at UCR's School of Business.