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MIT Dean of Admissions Resigns in Lying Scandal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the delayed-effect dept.

Billosaur writes "CNN has a report that the Dean of Admissions at MIT has resigned her post after admitting to lying about her academic record. 'Marilee Jones, who joined the staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979 to lead the recruitment of women at the university, stepped down from her post after admitting that she had misrepresented her academic degrees to the institute, according to a statement posted on MIT's Web site.' The school had recently received information about her credentials and the subsequent investigation uncovered the misrepresentations. Question is, why did it take 28 years?"

4 of 351 comments (clear)

  1. Why it took so long by Jazzer_Techie · · Score: 5, Informative

    The reason that it took so long is that 28 years ago she applied to be an administrative assistant. That position did not require a degree. While her credentials should have been checked then, they weren't. By the time she got around applying for Dean of Admissions, she had already been at MIT for 2 decades, and it wasn't policy to recheck credentials for internal promotions. The lie was finally discovered because of an anonymous tip. Previous to that, there wasn't any reason to check them as she was quite competently performing her duties.

  2. Re:This means one of two things... by PatriceVignon · · Score: 5, Informative

    Either: She is obviously good at her job and should keep it.
    Or: University degrees aren't worth very much. No, that's not the point: her (first) position did not require a degree at all. In this article from the Boston Globe MIT says

    Because the administrative assistant job for which she was being considered in 1979 did not require a degree, the university did not check Jones's academic credentials, said MIT chancellor Phillip L. Clay. If it were any other position, she should maybe be forgiven because of her strong performance. But since her job is to make sure that you do not lie on your application she was rightfully forced to quit.
  3. Re:It took 28 years because she is a woman. by bogjobber · · Score: 3, Informative
    Problem is most people that have degrees tend to be degree-racist

    You don't have to use the term racist to describe anyone who is prejudiced. There is already a word that encompasses that.

  4. Re:It took 28 years because she is a woman. by Frequency+Domain · · Score: 5, Informative
    Okay, I call bullshit. You clearly don't know anything about MIT, and have an axe to grind when it comes to academics.

    Fact 1: MIT has granted Full Professorships to people without degrees. They care about performance and ability more than about degrees.

    Fact 2: They also care about integrity. A place like MIT earns and maintains its reputation based on both the quality and the integrity of the work done there. Integrity is where the dean screwed up, and why she is being canned.