Harvard revokes professor's tenure amid data manipulation allegations

Harvard University has made the unusual decision to revoke the tenure of Francesca Gino, a leading professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, following allegations of data fraud in her research.

According to a report by The Harvard Crimson, this is the first time in decades that the university has revoked a professor's tenure, marking a milestone in its academic history.

Gino, known for her studies on honesty and ethical behavior, has faced questions about the integrity of her data since 2021, when a team of anonymous researchers, along with the Data Colada blog, raised concerns about possible fraud in several of her studies.

The blog authors, after analyzing papers co-written by Gino spanning more than a decade, found evidence of data manipulation in at least four studies, including recent publications from 2020. These concerns were shared with Harvard Business School in the fall of 2021, triggering an internal investigation.

The Harvard investigation concluded that Gino had manipulated data to support his hypotheses in multiple studies, leading to drastic measures.

In June 2023, Harvard Business School's dean, Srikant M. Datar, placed Gino on unpaid administrative leave, banned him from campus, and revoked his tenured professorship.

Finally, on Tuesday, a Harvard spokesman confirmed that her tenure was revoked, ending her employment at the university.

Gino, a leading academic

Gino was a leading figure in academia, having published more than 140 papers and received numerous awards.

In 2018 and 2019, she was Harvard's fifth highest-paid employee, with annual compensation in excess of $1 million, as recounted by The Harvard Crimson.

However, her reputation was tarnished following the allegations, which she has categorically denied.