"But in at least 10 instances, Gay lifted full sentences—even entire paragraphs—with just a word or two tweaked."
...
"The four papers that include plagiarized material comprise a sizable portion of Gay’s academic work. Gay, who is Harvard's 30th president, has authored just 11 peer-reviewed articles."
That's a fine resume for someone at a directional state university, but not impressive for someone who got tenure at Stanford and was then poached by Harvard.
My hypotheses:
She was on the administrative track all along, determined to be in charge, not just an academic;
Her work was the political flavor of the day, so she didn't need an impressive resume to keep getting promoted.