MIT Admissions Dean Falsified Her Résumé

The admissions dean at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology resigned this week after revealing that she falsified her résumé when she applied to the university more than two decades ago, the Tech reports. An investigation prompted by an anonymous phone call found that Marilee Jones–who started working for MIT in 1979 in an admissions office secretarial position–had not earned degrees from Union College, Albany Medical College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as previous sources listed. "She has been the person to yank letters of admission," Chancellor Phillip Clay told the Tech. "We had no choice but to make the separation quickly."

Jones, who became dean in 1998, has issued a brief statement about her resignation. "I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 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," she said. "I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the MIT community."

The resignation is the big news today at many campuses with highly competitive admissions. According to this Harvard Crimson article, Jones's "profile surged last year with the publication of Less Stress, More Success, which she wrote with pediatrician Kenneth R. Ginsburg. Among other pieces of advice in the book, Jones warned students against 'making up information to present yourself as something you are not.' She wrote, 'You must always be completely honest about who you are.'" –Kenneth Terrell