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April 26, 2007
Dean of Admissions at M.I.T. Resigns
By TAMAR LEWIN
Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became famous for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. But today she admitted that she had fabricated her own academic educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at the university.
"I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 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,” Ms. Jones said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site today. "I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.
Ms. Jones on various occasions had represented herself as having degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but she had no degrees from any of those places, said Phillip L. Clay, the chancellor of M.I.T.
Ms. Jones had recently been promoting a book, “Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond,” co-written with Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg. It had made her the guru of the movement to tame the college-admissions frenzy.
The pressure to be perfect was a theme of the book: “The most worrisome thing about this generation of driven students may be the fear of imperfection that’s being instilled in their psyches,” said part of the chapter on “The Problem with Perfectionism.” “This fear will stifle their creativity, impede their ability to experience joy, and ultimately interfere with their success.”
In Ms. Jones’s own case, Mr. Clay said, there was no requirement for a college degree in her first entry-level job in the admissions office. And by the time she was appointed admissions dean in 1997, he said, she had already been assistant dean and associate dean, so there was apparently little effort to check her earlier credentials.
At M.I.T., where Ms. Jones has been widely admired, almost revered, for her humor, outspokenness and common sense, faculty and students alike appeared saddened, and shocked.
“It was surprising,” said Mike Hurley, a freshman chemistry student. “Everyone who was admitted here probably knows her, at least her name.” Mr. Hurley added that the admissions office was unusually accessible, with Ms. Jones’s “bright” personality and blogs for incoming students. “Whenever someone’s integrity is questioned, it sets a bad example,” he said, “but I feel like the students can get past that and look at what she’s done for us as a whole.”
“I feel like she’s irreplaceable,” said Rachel Ellman, a 21-year-old who studies aerospace engineering.
Many expressed sadness for Ms. Jones. “It’s like a Thomas Hardy tragedy, because she did so much good, but something she did long ago came back and trumped it,” said Leslie Perelman, director of the M.I.T. program in writing and humanistic studies, and a friend of Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones’s resignation, effective immediately, was announced in an e-mail message to the M.I.T. campus today.
According to M.I.T. officials, the college received information questioning Ms. Jones’s academic background about 10 days ago, and, after spending a few days checking it out, asked for her resignation on Monday.
“There are some mistakes people can make for which ‘I’m sorry’ can be accepted, but this is one of those matters where the lack of integrity is sufficient all by itself,” the chancellor said. “This is a very sad situation for her and for the institution. We have obviously placed a lot of trust in her.”
A spokesman for Rensselaer said that while Ms. Jones did not graduate from the institution, she was a part-time nonmatriculated student during the 1974-75 school year. The other colleges said they had no record of her.
Dean of Admissions at M.I.T. Resigns
By TAMAR LEWIN
Marilee Jones, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became famous for urging stressed-out students competing for elite colleges to calm down and stop trying to be perfect. But today she admitted that she had fabricated her own academic educational credentials, and resigned after nearly three decades at the university.
"I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to M.I.T. 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,” Ms. Jones said in a statement posted on the university’s Web site today. "I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the M.I.T. community and beyond who supported me, believed in me and who have given me extraordinary opportunities.
Ms. Jones on various occasions had represented herself as having degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, but she had no degrees from any of those places, said Phillip L. Clay, the chancellor of M.I.T.
Ms. Jones had recently been promoting a book, “Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond,” co-written with Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg. It had made her the guru of the movement to tame the college-admissions frenzy.
The pressure to be perfect was a theme of the book: “The most worrisome thing about this generation of driven students may be the fear of imperfection that’s being instilled in their psyches,” said part of the chapter on “The Problem with Perfectionism.” “This fear will stifle their creativity, impede their ability to experience joy, and ultimately interfere with their success.”
In Ms. Jones’s own case, Mr. Clay said, there was no requirement for a college degree in her first entry-level job in the admissions office. And by the time she was appointed admissions dean in 1997, he said, she had already been assistant dean and associate dean, so there was apparently little effort to check her earlier credentials.
At M.I.T., where Ms. Jones has been widely admired, almost revered, for her humor, outspokenness and common sense, faculty and students alike appeared saddened, and shocked.
“It was surprising,” said Mike Hurley, a freshman chemistry student. “Everyone who was admitted here probably knows her, at least her name.” Mr. Hurley added that the admissions office was unusually accessible, with Ms. Jones’s “bright” personality and blogs for incoming students. “Whenever someone’s integrity is questioned, it sets a bad example,” he said, “but I feel like the students can get past that and look at what she’s done for us as a whole.”
“I feel like she’s irreplaceable,” said Rachel Ellman, a 21-year-old who studies aerospace engineering.
Many expressed sadness for Ms. Jones. “It’s like a Thomas Hardy tragedy, because she did so much good, but something she did long ago came back and trumped it,” said Leslie Perelman, director of the M.I.T. program in writing and humanistic studies, and a friend of Ms. Jones.
Ms. Jones’s resignation, effective immediately, was announced in an e-mail message to the M.I.T. campus today.
According to M.I.T. officials, the college received information questioning Ms. Jones’s academic background about 10 days ago, and, after spending a few days checking it out, asked for her resignation on Monday.
“There are some mistakes people can make for which ‘I’m sorry’ can be accepted, but this is one of those matters where the lack of integrity is sufficient all by itself,” the chancellor said. “This is a very sad situation for her and for the institution. We have obviously placed a lot of trust in her.”
A spokesman for Rensselaer said that while Ms. Jones did not graduate from the institution, she was a part-time nonmatriculated student during the 1974-75 school year. The other colleges said they had no record of her.
kinda sad...
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