Dean of Admissions at M.I.T. Resigns

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Constitution, Apr 26, 2007.

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  1. Constitution

    Constitution New Member

    From
    http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/education/26cnd-mit.html?hp

    Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became famous for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. But today she admitted that she had fabricated her own academic educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at the university.

    "I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my résumé when I applied for my current job or at any time since,” Ms. Jones said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site today. "I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.

    Ms. Jones on various occasions had represented herself as having degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but she had no degrees from any of those places, said Phillip L. Clay, the chancellor of M.I.T.

    Ms. Jones had recently been promoting a book, “Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond,” co-written with Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg. It had made her the guru of the movement to tame the college-admissions frenzy.

    The pressure to be perfect was a theme of the book: “The most worrisome thing about this generation of driven students may be the fear of imperfection that’s being instilled in their psyches,” said part of the chapter on “The Problem with Perfectionism.” “This fear will stifle their creativity, impede their ability to experience joy, and ultimately interfere with their success.”

    In Ms. Jones’s own case, Mr. Clay said, there was no requirement for a college degree in her first entry-level job in the admissions office. And by the time she was appointed admissions dean in 1997, he said, she had already been assistant dean and associate dean, so there was apparently little effort to check her earlier credentials.

    At M.I.T., where Ms. Jones has been widely admired, almost revered, for her humor, outspokenness and common sense, faculty and students alike appeared saddened, and shocked.

    “It was surprising,” said Mike Hurley, a freshman chemistry student. “Everyone who was admitted here probably knows her, at least her name.” Mr. Hurley added that the admissions office was unusually accessible, with Ms. Jones’s “bright” personality and blogs for incoming students. “Whenever someone’s integrity is questioned, it sets a bad example,” he said, “but I feel like the students can get past that and look at what she’s done for us as a whole.”

    “I feel like she’s irreplaceable,” said Rachel Ellman, a 21-year-old who studies aerospace engineering.

    Many expressed sadness for Ms. Jones. “It’s like a Thomas Hardy tragedy, because she did so much good, but something she did long ago came back and trumped it,” said Leslie Perelman, director of the M.I.T. program in writing and humanistic studies, and a friend of Ms. Jones.

    Ms. Jones’s resignation, effective immediately, was announced in an e-mail message to the M.I.T. campus today.

    According to M.I.T. officials, the college received information questioning Ms. Jones’s academic background about 10 days ago, and, after spending a few days checking it out, asked for her resignation on Monday.

    “There are some mistakes people can make for which ‘I’m sorry’ can be accepted, but this is one of those matters where the lack of integrity is sufficient all by itself,” the chancellor said. “This is a very sad situation for her and for the institution. We have obviously placed a lot of trust in her.”

    A spokesman for Rensselaer said that while Ms. Jones did not graduate from the institution, she was a part-time nonmatriculated student during the 1974-75 school year. The other colleges said they had no record of her.
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive...."
     
  3. cdhale

    cdhale Member

    My wife has an uncle that misrepresented himself many years ago. He is from Texas, but after a nasty divorce he moved to Illinois and fabricated a degree on his resume. He got the job and moved up in the company. As far as I know, he never has been caught.

    A few years ago, he contemplated returning to Texas to be closer to his ailing parents, but was afraid that his lack of credentials would catch up with him while looking for another job. Since he apparently is secure where he is, he just stayed there.

    Nothing like a 30 year old lie to keep you stuck somewhere...

    clint
     
  4. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    I thought it was standard practice for a potential employer to perform a full background check against the job applicant. This would cover criminal, work and education history. Is this NOT a standard practice???

    - Tom
     
  5. iquagmire

    iquagmire Member

    This was nearly 30 years ago - they probably didn't have a good background check system at the school. Besides, she was initially hired as an administrative assistant and moved up. What they should do (today) for any employee, is to perform a background check on a person moving to high profile positions. I think that even congressmen have to go through a similiar check when they go for higher appointed office.
     
  6. lspahn

    lspahn New Member

    It is for most places now, but more than likely once someone is in it never gets checked, even for promotions.

    It is never a bad thing when someone goes down in flames for this. Me and everyone here working hard should not have their degree diminished by someone who is lying about their background.
     
  7. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Me agrees. And the numbers involved in this practice are astonishingly large. USIS, the privatized former research arm of the Office of Personnel Management (USIS.com), has gone through the exercise of checking degree claims with the schools claimed. One of their quite large surveys found between 35% and 40% of resumes had at least one degree (from an accredited school) that did not check out. Of course people change their names, with marriage or otherwise, and computers are not infallible . . . but this suggests the numbers could be in the millions.

    The only comparable study I know of was done 30-odd years ago by a California Attorney General, who checked on every credential claimed by more than 1,000 faculty on one campus of the California State University system. He said then that about 10% could not be verified.
     
  8. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Me agrees. And the numbers involved in this practice are astonishingly large. USIS, the privatized former research arm of the Office of Personnel Management (USIS.com), has gone through the exercise of checking degree claims with the schools claimed. One of their quite large surveys found between 35% and 40% of resumes had at least one degree (from an accredited school) that did not check out. Of course people change their names, with marriage or otherwise, and computers are not infallible . . . but this suggests the numbers could be in the millions.

    The only comparable study I know of was done 30-odd years ago by a California Attorney General, who checked on every credential claimed by more than 1,000 faculty on one campus of the California State University system. He said then that about 10% could not be verified.
     
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    A Google search for "resume fraud" finds many reported studies. Numbers between 40 and 50 percent seem common -- for a combination of degree claims and previous job claims.

    For instance: "In a 2003 study, the background search firm Automatic Data Processing Inc.’s Screening and Selection Services found more than 50% of the people on whom it conducted employment and education checks had intentionally and/or unintentionally submitted false information, compared with 40% of potential employees who committed resume fraud in 2002."
     
  10. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    I'm not convinced employers are markedly more diligent in checking credentials than before. We see so many fraudulent schools, they must have many successful purchasers.

    Nor am I convinced the ones who check do a good job. Ask for a copy of a diploma, as many do? Fake diplomas abound. Transcripts? Ditto. Check with the school? Many diploma mills provide a verification service, and many unaccredited schools verify their "degrees," too. How about checking the postmark from where these credentials are mailed? Fake-able, too.

    No, when I see the HR field take this up as a serious point, I'll be more convinced. But none of it is taught in HR programs, it isn't contained in their texts, and it doesn't appear in the academic literature. Employers need to:

    a) Check on the accreditation of the school claimed. Is it accredited by a recognized agency?

    b) Verify degree(s) completion directly from the accredited school. Under FERPA, this information (degree, year(s) attended, major area of study) is considered directory--public--information, releasable to all who ask. (Unless specifically withheld by the student/graduate.)

    It's not hard, but one must know how. And they don't.
     
  11. Shawn Ambrose

    Shawn Ambrose New Member


    You know what, I teach an Intro HR course - and it never dawned on me unti now that you are correct. Sooooo, starting in Fall 2007, BUS 261 at LCO Community College WILL have those little tidbits in their course! :)

    Shawn
     
  12. fortiterinre

    fortiterinre New Member

    Agreed, although it is always interesting in the interview process to as the applicants for a copy of the diploma and see their reaction. I had one woman say it would be too hard to get the diploma out of the frame, and we ended the interview right there.
     

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