MIT Dean of Admissions admits she never graduated from college

[kurth]

April 27, 2007
Dean at M.I.T. Resigns, Ending a 28-Year Lie
By TAMAR LEWIN

Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became well known for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. Yesterday she admitted that she had fabricated her own educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at M.I.T. Officials of the institute said she did not have even an undergraduate degree.

“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 institute’s Web site. “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 said that she would not make any other public comment “at this personally difficult time” and that she hoped her privacy would be respected.

Ms. Jones, 55, originally from Albany, had on various occasions represented herself as having degrees from three upstate New York institutions: Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In fact, she had no degrees from any of those places, or anywhere else, M.I.T. officials said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/27/us/27mit.html?bl&ex=1177819200&en=bf88142bc6884a95&ei=5087%0A

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. Evidence that College Degrees are over-rated

she ran the place for more than 20 years, apparently well.

That doesn't sound too bitter, does it?

[pnwmom]

2. She would have needed the science degrees to be a practicing scientist.

But clearly they weren't needed for admissions work!

[MLFerrell]

Well, as someone who actually HAS earned a degree...

I resent the fuck out of anyone who would fabricate one. Whether you think it's worth it or not, college is a LOT of work. I'm in grad school right now. MUCH more work. I'd be extraordinarily pissed off if someone beat me out for a position based on a falsified Masters degree. EXTRAORDINARILY pissed... When she applied twenty-odd years ago, someone like me who put an ungodly amount of time and effort into their studies TOTALLY got fucked because of this dishonest fuck. Strike that, probably DOZENS of someones like me.

Fuck her, and fuck anyone who tries to pull the same bullshit!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. It's crazy. I'm bitter because I never got to go to college, and I resent the fact that

what I've learned on my own means squat.

You're angry because you DID go through all the hard work, and someone lied and slipped in under the radar.

I get ya. :hug:

[MLFerrell]

13. "I resent the fact that what I've learned on my own means squat."

I know where you're coming from. I've learned infinitely more from personal study of things that interest me than I have in college, and I don't think that that's likely to change.

"You're angry because you DID go through all the hard work, and someone lied and slipped in under the radar."

Yep. That's about the long and short of it.

Oh, and what you've learned independently DOES NOT mean squat. Maybe to idiotic human resources types who wouldn't know a competent, capable potential employee is he or she was bit on the ass by one, perhaps those of that ilk think that anyone without a degree isn't worth a second glance. But fuck them.

How would you feel if you were the one to lose out on getting hired for her original position because this sorry asshole decided to "embellish" her credentials?

Yeah, I'd feel pretty goddamned angry about it too. :)

[man4allcats]

15. self delete

[man4allcats]

17. self delete

[man4allcats]

19. Calm down. - NOTE: Reply to DUer MLFerrell

NOTE: This reply is to DUer MLFerrell's post entitled "Well, as someone who actually HAS earned a degree..." For some reason, the server wants to designate it as a reply to the OP, hence my earlier "self deletes."
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I went to graduate school too, and after that I worked in a biomedical research lab at a prestigious American medical school, a school that annually gets awarded tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants. In the lab where I worked, there was a Vietnamese technician who started there while working on an undergraduate business degree. Somehow he met the lab's principal investigator and was offered a job even though he had no formal scientific training. While working in that lab, this technician finally completed his business degree. He ultimately moved on to another lab, never using his BBA. He was able to move because the hard ass principal investigator this technician worked years for gave him an excellent recommendation. The reason that PI gave this tech such a great rec was because the tech worked his butt off to earn it.

I didn't resent this tech because he had no formal academic science training, and I did. In fact, I learned a lot from him. It's true he never lied about who he was or where he came from, but he nevertheless had no formal academic training for that job. What he did have was intelligence and a great work ethic, and it paid off. M.I.T.'s "Case of the Dishonest Dean" differs from the true story I've related only insofar as the dishonesty is concerned. That aside, this administrator apparently did a great job for a very long time. One would think if she weren't up to the task, someone in authority, especially at a place like M.I.T., would have noticed at some point during her twenty-eight year tenure. Apparently M.I.T.'s standards have not suffered as a result of her efforts. Last I heard, the place was still fairly competitive and continues to yet manage to hold it's own academically. I don't defend her dishonesty, but from what I've read it appears she knew her business.

The moral of this story is: GET A GRIP! If you think you're going to know it all just because you went to grad school and somebody else didn't, you've got another thing coming, and it will likely come in the form of a rude awakening. When you actually get a job, you will probably find that most of what you need to know will be learned on that job, quite possibly from someone less well educated than you who has nevertheless been doing that job for twenty or thirty years. When you find yourself in that position, remember that a little humility can go a long way toward job security.

As for the job search itself, in my experience employers are less interested in your degree than they are in what you actually know. If you grew up during the Reagan and Bush years, this may come as something of a shock. Contrary to the prevailing mantra of that period, today it actually is what you know rather than whom you blow. You may well find that someone with a bachelor's degree and five years experience has a better chance than you with a master's and no experience at getting that great job. My advice to you would be to spend your time now making sure that you can compete with people who already know how to do what you want to do rather than "getting pissed" over whether or not they have a degree.

[MLFerrell]

26. "rather than "getting pissed" over whether or not they have a degree."

That has nothing to do with it. It's a matter of honesty.

"That aside, this administrator apparently did a great job for a very long time."

Good for her. She never would have gotten the damn position in the first place were it not for her lie.

"I went to graduate school too..."

Then why is it that you seem to all but excuse her conduct? I assume that you spent many years and tens of thousands of dollars getting your education... Aren't you the least bit irate that someone like this woman makes an utter mockery out of that hard work and expense by inventing credentials for herself? Because I sure as hell am!

"As for the job search itself, in my experience employers are less interested in your degree than they are in what you actually know."

With all due respect, in my experience, this is absolutely not the case. If it were, I wouldn't be in grad school, as I would have been able to find good work with "What I actually know" and my B.A.

"My advice to you would be to spend your time now making sure that you can compete with people who already know how to do what you want to do rather than "getting pissed" over whether or not they have a degree."

You read entirely too much into what I wrote about this lying ex-MIT individual. I don't give a flying fuck whether ANYONE has a degree or not. Seriously, I don't fucking care. If someone sans-degree got hired over me for this or that, good on them! But if someone with "invented" credentials beat me out for a position, then yeah, I'd be righteously pissed, as I'd have every right to be. I can compete with anyone. As long as the playing field, as it were, is level (fair). When someone goes to the extreme of pulling academic honors out of their ass, fuck 'em. I have no sympathy. It's deeply disrespectful of everyone who actually EARNED those honors.

Thus, I celebrate this person's hubristic demise.

:popcorn:

[man4allcats]

34. Oh my goodness! n/t

[seabeyond]

29. my father climbed the corporate ladder without degree taking positions graduates applied for

because you have a degree should no way guarantee a job over someone without a degree. it is merely an added check next to your name weighing for you hiring. a whole lot of other conditions come into play in gaining employment. degree does not guarantee better employer.

[MLFerrell]

30. "because you have a degree should no way guarantee a job over someone without a degree."

I agree 100%.

But inventing credentials out of thin air is a bit different, wouldn't you agree?

[terisan]

23. You are right. Many students are going into debt to purchase expensive degrees not necessary

to be productive. Too much of modern day higher ed is a form of racketeering.

[malaise]

33. You use the correct words

'to purchase degrees'. You see if they saw their investment as purchasing an education they might focus more on 'the reading for a degree part' of the acceptance letter and actually learn something. Most are already part of the racket since all they want is certification.

On the other hand some people read their surroundings and have always used libraries. They study and learn so they really don't need certification.

There are a few really good students these days. On the other hand, some of the most clueless youngsters are now in college. They neither want to learn about society or contribute to society. They couldn't read a clue that even nature presents, let alone solve a problem. I'm sure Pat Robertson is 'educating' more than a few of them.

[Rage for Order]

32. If they're so over-rated, why'd she feel the need to claim she earned degrees?

[riderinthestorm]

3. Uhm, Jobsearch 101 - never fudge your resume!

You WILL be caught out sooner or later!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Regardless whether she was doing a good job, once her deception was discovered, there is NO WAY she

could have been kept on, as DEAN OF ADMISSIONS.

Think about it, the job involves scrutinizing the transcripts, diplomas, and credentials of others, and in many cases ascertaining their validity, to pick candidates for very competitive spots at a leading world university.

The very nature of her job means it would be the depths of hypocrisy to keep her on once falsification of her own credentials became clear (and hers were doozies, she claimed bachelor's AND PhD.), and too much of a disgrace to the university.

If she had been running the dorms or the campus cafeteria system, different story maybe, but it would still be up to the university to forgive her for lying to them.

Dean of Admissions? No way.

[AlCzervik]

5. i really don't understand how they didn't catch up her before now.

[LisaL]

11. She started a long time ago at a low level position.

[Bjornsdotter]

6. Sometimes a college degree doesn't mean shit...

....Two words.


George Bush....


Cheers

[Skittles]

20. it VERY OFTEN does not mean shit

I work with plenty of degreed people who cannot write a decent sentence

[KittyWampus]

7. once more, she started at a low level & worked her way up on MERIT. And she didn't need degrees

for that first position.

[AlCzervik]

8. i think it was the lying and not how she performs her duties.

[MLFerrell]

28. Yep.

N/T

[LisaL]

10. The quote from her book.

“Holding integrity is sometimes very hard to do because the temptation may be to cheat or cut corners,” it says. “But just remember that ‘what goes around comes around,’ meaning that life has a funny way of giving back what you put out.”

[MLFerrell]

14. Poetic justice...

If ever such an animal existed, this is a prime specimen.

Despite my best intentions, it's exceedingly hard to not want to kick her fucking teeth in.

[man4allcats]

22. Please see my post (# 19 above).

You can click to it here.

[Breeze54]

12. She's laughing all the way to the bank!

She lied a lot, earned lots of $$ then quit after 28 years of success! No flies on her...
She's home free now but she's still a liar. Someone promoted her along the way.
Maybe that person decided to overlook her lack of credentials because she was doing a good job?

[LisaL]

16. Didn't you read the article? She falsified her credentials on

her resume. MIT didn't know about her lack of credentials.

[JCMach1]

18. Shows the 'brain trust' that MIT administrators are...

VERIFY!

[Breeze54]

21. That's what I said.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. Maybe she had a "wolfowitz" in her past

to help her get into the head office.

:shrug:

[Breeze54]

35. lol! Could be!

She probably looked a whole lot better 28 years ago! ;)

[TZ]

25. I have both a college degree and I have extensive work

experience (I have the work equivalent of a Master's in my field). I resent someone who lies about their degree ALOT! I worked hard to get my degree too. Cheaters and liars no matter how much "merit" they had built up in their job, have no place in a position like Dean of Admissions! That sends a wrong message to students. I.E why should I work hard--all I need to do is pad my resume a bit and I can get anything I want! This is so much what's wrong with the Bush admin, that appearance is more important than actual skills and training!:mad:

[MLFerrell]

27. "...appearance is more important than actual skills and training! "

You nailed it. I don't give a fuck if this woman was "super-admissions-personnel!!!" She lied her way to the top, and I feel overwhelmed with schadenfreude seeing her life unravel as a result of her dishonesty.

[WinkyDink]

31. "misrepresented" = the written version of "misspoke"= LIED.