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Harvard revokes tenure for ethics professor accused of fraud
The professor denies the allegations, with a civil suit ongoing.
Harvard University has revoked the tenure and terminated the employment of a world-renowned scholar, Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino, marking a rare move by the institution amid years of controversy over allegations of data fraud.
A Harvard University spokesperson confirmed the move on Tuesday; it’s the first time this has happened in recent decades.
Gino is an internationally renowned behavioral scientist, author, researcher, and teacher, known for her academic research into people’s decision-making.
In 2021, a group of behavioral scientists raised concerns on their blog, Data Colada, which analyzes academic studies, stating they believed four of Gino’s studies had fraudulent data.
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Harvard launched an 18-month internal investigation into Gino’s research in 2023 following those allegations and placed her on unpaid administrative leave.
According to a $25 million civil lawsuit Gino filed against the university in August 2023, the school found that she was responsible for “research misconduct” and removed her from her teaching and research duties.
The suit claimed that Harvard created a new employment policy specifically for Gino and used it to conduct the investigation. Gino further argued that the outcome of the investigation by the school would have been different if she were male.
In September, a federal judge dismissed the defamation allegations of Gino’s suit, ruling she is a public figure so the First Amendment protects scrutiny of her work.
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However, according to court records, the judge allowed claims that Harvard breached its contract with her by disciplining her in ways that violated the school’s tenure policies. The case is ongoing.
“From the start, I have said that I did not commit any academic misconduct,” Gino said in a statement sent to Boston.com.
On a website Gino created specifically to counteract the allegations, she says the information available to the public and analysis posted by critics are “incomplete and misleading.”
Gino said Harvard has denied her the right to defend herself publicly, first during the discussion of the case and later during the process to revoke her tenure.
“I am deeply sad and disappointed that the University has concluded as it has,” Gino wrote.
According to Gino’s resume, she began working at Harvard Business School in 2010 as an associate professor of business administration. From June 2018 to 2021, she served as the head of the Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets Unit.
The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets have featured Gino’s research.
Gino also advises firms and nonprofit organizations in areas such as negotiation, decision-making, and organizational behavior.
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“I am deeply sad and disappointed that the University has concluded as it has,” Gino wrote in a statement. “But now that this process is over, I am free to show why its conclusion is so clearly wrong. I will continue the fight and do everything in my power to right this wrong.”
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