Harvard Professor Known for Research on Honesty Fired amid Data Fraud Accusations

A Harvard University professor known for researching honesty and ethical behavior has lost her tenure after being accused of fraud.

In 2023, leadership put Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino on administrative leave after she was accused of falsifying data, NBC News reported on Monday.

Gino’s research has appeared in outlets including the leftist New York Times (NYT), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and NBC News.

The report continued:

In 2021, three professors and behavioral researchers with a blog site, Data Colada, began examining a number of studies Gino co-authored over a decade and shared evidence they believed proved fraudulent data with the business school.

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Gino was placed on unpaid administrative leave in June 2023 after an 18-month internal investigation found she was responsible for “research misconduct,” according to a $25 million lawsuit Gino filed against Harvard and Data Colada. She lost her titled professorship and was removed from all teaching and research duties, the suit read.

The now ex-professor was apparently the fifth-highest paid staffer at the university in 2018 and 2019, raking in over $1 million each year, according to the Harvard Crimson.

The article said, “Gino has also taken her battle to the court of public opinion. In September 2023, Gino penned a letter to HBS faculty claiming she was innocent and had ‘to right this wrong.’ She also published a personal website, where she accused HBS of misconduct and conspiring with Data Colada to damage her reputation.”

However, university leaders decided recently to revoke her tenure and fire her from her job at the business school, per GBH.

Meanwhile, Harvard has been accused of failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on its campuses, and President Donald Trump’s administration has been working to hold the university accountable, per Breitbart News.

Trump is now considering three billion dollars in grant money that was previously meant for scientific and engineering research at Harvard being redirected to trade schools.

Many faculty members at Harvard, the school that refused to comply with demands for reforms to stop racial discrimination, are donating portions of their salaries to fight Trump, per Breitbart News.