Latest news with #ex-Harvard
International Business Times
29-05-2025
- International Business Times
Francesca Gino: Disgraced Harvard Professor Earned $1M Annually Before Being Fired for Fabricating Research Used in Studies on 'Dishonesty'
The disgraced ex-Harvard professor—fired from her cushy job for fabricating data in research centered on dishonesty—was once one of the highest-paid staff members at the Ivy League institution. Francesca Gino was paid a staggering $1 million annually as a behavioral scientist at Harvard Business School, according to the student-run Harvard Crimson. She was ranked as the university's fifth-highest-paid employee between 2018 and 2019. However, her career at the Ivy League institution came to an abrupt halt last week after school officials stripped her of tenure and fired her after an investigation concluded that she had manipulated data in four studies to make the findings boosted her proposed hypothesis. Lost the Top Job Once a celebrity academic, Gino became the first Harvard professor since the 1940s to have their tenure revoked, following the introduction of formal dismissal guidelines by the American Association of University Professors. Gino — the author of more than 140 academic papers and recipient of several prestigious awards — first came under investigation in 2023. Three behavioral scientists behind the blog Data Colada published a series of posts presenting evidence that four papers she co-authored between 2012 and 2020 included "fraudulent data." Scrutiny over her work began with a 2012 study she co-authored, which claimed that asking people to sign an honesty pledge at the beginning of a form, rather than at the end, led to more truthful answers. That particular study was retracted in 2021 due to apparent data manipulation by another researcher involved in the project, which was based on three separate lab experiments. Several years later, an internal review concluded that Gino had fabricated data to support her findings in at least four of her published studies. According to The Daily Beast, Harvard had not stripped a professor of their tenure in decades and offered no further comment on the matter. When the investigation began in 2023, Gino responded on her personal website, firmly rejecting the accusations made against her. "There is one thing I know for sure: I did not commit academic fraud. I did not manipulate data to produce a particular result," it reads. "I did not falsify data to bolster any result. I did not commit the offense I am accused of. Period." After allegation started to spread, Gino was placed on administrative leave. The journal Psychological Science also withdrew two of her published articles, saying that the decision was based on recommendations from the Research Integrity Office at Harvard Business School (HBS). In both instances, the journal noted that an independent forensic firm hired by HBS had found "discrepancies" between the final published data and earlier versions from Gino's behavioral research. Image Completely Tarnished Separately, Harvard requested the withdrawal of a third study published by Gino in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and according to the Financial Times, the journal's publisher planned to pull the article in its September 2023 edition. The two papers recently withdrawn by Psychological Science included a 2015 study titled "The Moral Virtue of Authenticity: How Inauthenticity Produces Feelings of Immorality and Impurity" and a 2014 study called "Evil Genius? How Dishonesty Can Lead to Greater Creativity." The 2020 paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which is now set to be retracted, was titled "Why Connect? Moral Consequences of Networking with a Promotion or Prevention Focus." The study "Evil Genius" included five separate lab experiments involving human participants, who were given chances to act dishonestly by exaggerating their performance on certain tasks, followed by assessments of their creativity. According to the original abstract, the research claimed that "acting dishonestly leads to greater creativity in subsequent tasks." In August 2023, Gino fired back at the university and filed a $25 million lawsuit, alleging she was the victim of a "smear campaign." The 100-page complaint, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accused Harvard and the three data analysts of defaming her by spreading false accusations of academic misconduct. "I want to be very clear: I have never, ever falsified data or engaged in research misconduct of any kind," Gino said. In her lawsuit, Gino argued that any irregularities in the spreadsheets could have been caused by research assistants manually transferring data from paper forms—a method that is inherently susceptible to human mistakes. Gino's lawsuit further claimed that Harvard conducted an unjust and biased investigation into the data fraud accusations. She alleged that the university "overlooked evidence that could have cleared her" and introduced a new policy for handling academic misconduct cases that was enforced solely in her situation.
Mint
25-05-2025
- Mint
‘Head number 7, braiiins': Chilling PayPal memos of ex-Harvard worker, wife who sold human organs
In a case as macabre as it is surreal, a former manager at the Harvard Medical School morgue has pleaded guilty to trafficking stolen human remains including dissected heads, brains, faces, and skin, and selling them on the black market. Alongside the man, Cedric Lodge, his wife Denise Lodge, was also involved, who received $37,355.16 (nearly ₹ 32 lakh) over three years. Payments were made via PayPal and had memos such as "head number 7" and 'braiiiiiiins," as per the federal indictment obtained by People Magazine. Cedric Lodge, 57, admitted on May 21 in a federal court in Pennsylvania to interstate transport of stolen human remains taken from cadavers donated to Harvard for medical research and education. Between 2018 and March 2020, Lodge used his privileged access to the school's morgue to harvest body parts from corpses that had already been dissected, and used for academic purposes, but had yet to be disposed of. The ex-Harvard worker took them to his home and, along with his wife, sold them to people in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, prosecutors said. The transactions totalled to tens of thousands of dollars, ABC News reported, citing the indictment. Prosecutors say Cedric Lodge ferried the stolen remains from Harvard's morgue in Boston to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He and his wife, Denise Lodge, then sold the body parts to buyers across state lines, sometimes shipping them directly and at other times allowing the buyers to pick them up in person. Their network stretched across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. On one occasion, Denise Lodge supplied a Massachusetts woman with human skin, knowing she intended to tan it. He even met her at the morgue to hand over 'two dissected faces,' revealed the indictment, state multiple reports. Lodge now faces up to 10 years in federal prison, plus fines and a supervised release. His sentencing will be determined by Chief US District Judge Matthew W Brann. Lodge's wife, Denise Lodge, pleaded guilty last year and is waiting for her sentence. The story has horrified Harvard officials and the public alike. "We are appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on our campus, a community dedicated to healing and serving others," Harvard Medical School deans George Daley and Edward Hundert said in a statement.
HKFP
20-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
US higher education cuts ‘opportune moment' for Hong Kong to attract talent, says head of city's top university
Funding cuts at top US universities offer an 'opportune moment' for higher education institutions in Hong Kong to attract talent, the head of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has said. US President Donald Trump's slashing of grants to some of the country's elite universities, including Harvard and Columbia, has caused 'damage' to the American higher education sector, said Zhang Xiang, president and vice-chancellor of HKU, in interviews published by two local newspapers on Monday. However, it gives 'an opportune moment and a good window for Hong Kong to absorb overseas talent,' he told Ming Pao and Sing Tao Daily. His remarks come days after the Trump administration announced fresh funding cuts to Harvard, claiming 'discrimination' at one of the world's top universities. US federal agencies have terminated a total of US$2.65 billion in grants to Harvard, a move that the university has called 'unlawful.' Harvard is challenging the decision in court. Another Ivy League school, Columbia University, complied with some of the Trump administration's demands but still faced grant cuts, forcing it to lay off nearly 180 staff members. Science journal Nature found that 75 per cent of US scientists who answered its poll said they were considering leaving the United States following 'disruptions prompted by Trump,' with Europe and Canada being top choices for relocation. 'World-class university' Zhang, who studied and worked at US universities, said in the interview that Trump's move had affected the morale of academics in the country. HKU recently admitted mainland Chinese students who had enrolled at Princeton University, another Ivy League school in Trump's crosshairs, he said, adding that some scholars had decided not to go the US due to the president's policy. However, Hong Kong also faces competition from other universities in the region in attracting talent, he said, citing the case of ex-Harvard chemist Charles Lieber. Lieber, who in 2021 was convicted of lying to the US federal government about his research ties to China, joined Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, a university in Shenzhen, as a professor in late April. Zhang told the newspapers that Lieber intended to come to HKU, but the Chinese university made a better offer. The vice-chancellor added that housing and education for children in Hong Kong posed an additional challenge in the city's bid to bring in talent. The Nanjing-born academic shrugged off concerns that the share of local staff at HKU had been declining, whereas that of mainland Chinese staff had been on the rise. Ming Pao reported that local staff accounted for 25.5 per cent of HKU's faculty in the 2024-25 academic year, down from 38.7 per cent in 2017-18, while mainland Chinese faculty rose from 21.6 to 38.8 per cent over the same period. Zhang said a 'world-class' university must comprise scholars from around the world, describing the trend as 'a natural process.' 'That chapter has passed' Zhang also said HKU had been 'on the right track' after a year of management infighting that prompted the Hong Kong government to intervene. In June last year, the government set up a task force to investigate a prolonged conflict between the HKU governing council, then led by barrister Priscilla Wong, and Zhang himself. Veteran HSBC banker Peter Wong was later appointed chairperson of the council, succeeding Priscilla Wong as she completed her three-year term at the end of last year. Peter Wong took up the role in January this year. 'That chapter has passed,' Zhang said, adding that the university had arranged for the successor to interim deputy vice-chancellor Richard Wong, who is expected to step down at the end of June. Zhang took up the post in 2018, succeeding Peter Mathieson, who stepped down after four years in office. Last year, he was cleared of misconduct and mismanagement allegations arising from whistle-blower emails that prompted an internal six-month-long investigation. HKU, the city's oldest university, was ranked sixth in Asia in the latest ranking published by Times Higher Education – the highest among tertiary institutions in Hong Kong.
