Updated: September 15, 2023, at 5:04 p.m.
Nearly 11 years after publishing an influential study on reducing fraud, Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino learned her tenure would be reviewed over suspicions of the very behavior she researched.
In a series of four blog posts in June, Data Colada — a data investigation blog run by business school professors Uri Simonsohn, Leif D. Nelson, and Joseph P. Simmons — gave a detailed account of alleged research misconduct by Gino across four academic papers. One post detailed alleged research misconduct in Gino’s 2012 study on reducing fraud by asking participants to sign documents before providing their information.
Two of the papers were retracted following the allegations by Data Colada, while another had previously been retracted in September 2021. Earlier this month, a paper by Gino in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was retracted “at the request of the Research Integrity Office at Harvard Business School” — her fourth.
After Data Colada notified HBS in 2021 of Gino’s alleged misconduct, HBS Dean Srikant M. Datar initiated an 18-month investigation and placed Gino on unpaid administrative leave. She was also barred from campus and stripped of her endowed faculty title as the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration.
On July 28, Harvard’s Office of the President notified Gino that her tenure was under review for revocation.
Just five days later, Gino took legal action against Data Colada and Harvard. In a 100-page filing, Gino alleged that Harvard and Datar “conspired” with Data Colada to damage her reputation with false accusations.
In the wake of the lawsuit, supporters of Data Colada organized a GoFundMe to finance their potential legal defense, which has raised more than $333,000 to date.
Andrew T. Miltenberg, an attorney for Gino, wrote in a statement to The Crimson in August that Harvard’s “complete and utter disregard for evidence, due process and confidentiality should frighten all academic researchers.”
“The University’s lack of integrity in its review process stripped Prof. Gino of her rights, career and reputation — and failed miserably with respect to gender equity,” Miltenberg wrote. “The bias and uneven application of oversight in this case is appalling. Data Colada’s vicious take-down of Prof Gino is also completely baseless.”
Miltenberg declined to comment further for this article. Gino declined multiple requests for an interview.
University spokesperson Jonathan L. Swain declined to comment for this article. Data Colada also declined comment.
At Harvard, these past months have brought more than just legal headaches. As Gino continues to battle for vindication in the public eye, faculty within HBS have grown increasingly wary of the sanctions against Gino — and the administration that imposed them.
Read full report at
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/9/15/hbs-francesca-gino-feature/
