<p>Further, panhandlegal, her original job application was 28 years ago. Resume fraud was really not on the radar screen at that time. Obviously, it occurred. But such things were taken at face value then, for all levels of jobs. References might be checked. Or not. But validating stated degrees would have been quite unusual.</p>
<p>I can't believe I just read 18 pages of posts about Marilee Jones. My son (MIT '07) called me to report the firing. He's always been contemptuous of her, mostly because she has said some truly idiotic things about getting into MIT that don't reflect the reality of being at MIT. I met her many years ago when she first worked for MIT (when I also worked for MIT after I actually got a diploma from MIT...) and always wondered how she'd made it as far as she had. Now I know: she lied.</p>
<p>I'm sad. I too could have been Dean of Admissions for MIT---if only I'd known it just took a few strategic lies on my resume. Just think how my life could have been different, I could have gone to Harvard for graduate school....</p>
<p>That's my point, phuriku. Shouldn't every resume be verified prior to hiring? I've always assumed that would be the case. Isn't that what HR people are supposed to do?? The fact that she started out at MIT as an admin assistant has nothing to do with it. Just seems to me that the institution should bear some of the responsibility for this debacle. Other than our own personal standards (which may not be very high!) what keeps any of us from claiming nonexistant credentials?</p>
<p>(Sorry to bore you NJres! I happen to agree with your position)</p>
<p>"She moved up the ranks, and never corrected the background info."</p>
<p>True, but when she submitted her biographical information to her book publisher, prior to the book's 2006 publication, she didn't have to send them the same lie (that she was a scientist with degrees in biology and chemistry from RPI and the Albany Medical College).</p>
<p>
<p>To those who like hazmat who are saying all sorts of semi-coherent celebratory things and calling for blood, stop and think for a second. You, lacking saintliness, have also done bad things, as have we all. Our mistakes differ in newsworthiness, but few are really qualified to sit in judgment of others. Those who take pleasure in dancing over the disgraced are being cruel and pointless. What will your crowing add or detract?</p>
<p>This isn't about most people on this thread -- just a vocal minority for whom apparently seeing the bad in someone else is a good reason to show the cruelest side of themselves.
</p>
<p>Ben, though I agree that some of the attacks here have been unwarranted and not constructive in the least, I have to disagree with you on one point.</p>
<p>Marilee Jones did not simply "make a mistake." She actively portrayed herself fraudulently, claiming to have a PhD and often being called a doctor. She wrote a book about admissions that was supposed to be nonfiction and biographical, and included at least some of this false information in that book, basically lying to strengthen her arguments.</p>
<p>I would like to state, though, especially as someone who has been openly critical of MIT's admissions policies in the relevant threads on that forum, that I hope that this does not affect anyone's opinion of MIT as an educational institute. The professors, classes, and opportunities exist fairly independently of the admissions office, and the quality of those things should be the basis on which to judge the school.</p>
<p>I haven't read every single post on this thread, so forgive me if I am being redundant. Though I do not necessarily think that any lawsuits are in order, I can very much understand those who might have concern about the impact of this deception on her job of the last nine years. </p>
<p>When you place yourself in the very vulnerable position of possible "blackmailing," you have opened yourself up to issues that would <em>not</em> be present if all of your ducks were in a row. The story I've read says that a call was fielded that suggested someone look into Ms. Jones's educaitonal credentials. I am wondering, WHO CALLED...and WHY? Could this possibly be someone "scorned" by the admissions process on behalf of their kid? Just a theory, mind you, but when you place yourself in a position like the one Ms. Jones did, then you open yourself to these types of actions.</p>
<p>Case in point:</p>
<p>In the early years of my marriage, my hubster did contract aircraft work. He does not have a degree, and his job was classified as a "designer" or "drafter." When Dick Cheney dumped the A-12 program back in '91, it put 10,000+ engineers on the street at one time, all of them scrambling for the same types of jobs. In the stress of the times, many designers/drafters fabricated degrees and marketed themselves as engineers (and many of them could do the work). My dh and I steadfastly refused to do this, of course, and we sat out of work for nearly five months with three kids under age four (and one newborn--I was preggo with her when the program was cut). </p>
<p>Eventually, my dh got a job offer that led to another job offer in the location that we are today. We ended up fine, but we did watch those around us who lied and cheated go through much less stress than we did in terms of time off and lost income. We would never have considered doing otherwise.</p>
<p>When you work in the defense industry, you must receive a security clearance. One of the questions on the clearance form was, "Have you ever declared bankruptcy?" (among many, many other questions). I always wondered WHY that question was on the form, but then I realized that the line of thinking was that if you HAD declared bankruptcy, you'd been in a dire enough situation to perhaps render yourself vulnerable to "selling secrets." In other words, this thing that was seemingly unrelated to your job may, in fact, HAVE an impact on the job you do if you render yourself vulnerable to extortion.</p>
<p>Well, in the case of Marilee Jones, who knows whether or not there may have been admissions granted because someone knew her dirty little secret and threatened to expose her if she did not admit a certain student? This is purely conjecture, but you can see how her being in the vulnerable position she was MAY have affected the job she did. </p>
<p>This dishonesty and deception must not be downplayed. In fact, this woman's educational credentials were CRUCIAL to the proper execution of her job, if only to guarantee that her behavior--and decisions--were beyond reproach.</p>
<p>~berurah</p>
<p>I agree with NJres: files are kept forever. And yet, in my job, I read cvs all the time. It would not occur to me to pick up a phone and call colleges and universities to verify that an applicant did indeed get a degree from them.<br>
My H also mentions that his company, which hires many foreign degree-holders, never checks either. I believe that, in universities, HR folks are not employed to check credentials. Rather, it's to walk new hires through benefits, job descriptions, and the like.</p>
<p>"I don't know her SAT scores (my guess would be mid-low 1400s), but she is a double legacy (with rich donating parents), well rounded (theater, cross country, good at humanities) and according to someone who sat in front of her, was cursing math under her breath during AP Calculus. I think there was immense pressure on her to go to MIT (she got in EA). She also was accepted at Brown, and the best way to describe her is as a stereotypical Brown student. She was in the top 3 in our graduating class, so her credentials in math and science were good enough for subjective criteria to swing in her favor."
She could have been admitted to any school without her rich donating parents! (Excepting her SAT scores that Wendy guessed)</p>
<p>That's what disgusts me, that she claimed to be a scientist when she has paid none of the dues of a scientist.</p>
<p>Since when are all college admissions officers infallible? Even if Jones was making all the decisions (which would be humanly impossible with all the apps that MIT receives), she is just as prone to making mistakes w/ admissions than a dean at any other college. Everyone, I'm sure, has a story of a student who shouldn't have been accepted to College X and then proceeded to ruin their lives.</p>
<p>(Panhandlegal, I wrote that I bore myself and I meant that I (me, myself) bore me! Wasn't directed at you at all!!) </p>
<p>Ms Jones probably did a great job these past 28 years. I don't doubt for a moment that she and her staff admitted the "right" students. However, her lies are unforgivable. Don't give me that bs about failing to correct a mistake. Listing 3 degrees that you didn't earn is not a "mistake," it's a damned lie. (3 lies in fact)</p>
<p>Burnthis and NJres....I wasn't trying to minimize what happened...just trying to summarize (and not emotionally respond to) the story for someone who didn't want to read through 19 pages of posts... I really cannot imagine how Jones was OK with answering to, or allowing herself to be referred to as a "scientist" with a Ph.D. This was obviously much more than a single mistake made 28 years ago. Within an academic environment, and herself preaching about honesty in applications, it is sadly hypocritical and just plain wrong. I don't think any lawsuits or changes of heart of present or future students should happen, though...and MIT will get through this. It's still an awesome institution.</p>
<p>Since I qualify as a professional-grade cynic, I never like what Jones had to say. Now I can feel that I was wise.</p>
<p>I don't know if this matters to anyone, or if it will cause anyone to pause his or her smug pontificating, but members of the MIT admissions staff read this forum (even members who do not have usernames). They're quite human, and devastated by learning that their director, whom they liked and respected, has misrepresented herself.</p>
<p>mollie -- as can be gleaned from the previous posts, I'm on your side with this. I hope they and Marilee know that many people (especially those who didn't spend all of today holding forth about integrity on CC) remember and respect all the good that she's done and won't let this mistake she made obliterate her accomplishments.</p>
<p>I know I often made MIT admissions folks mad by saying what I thought, but I hope this time I'm going against the flow in a way that's less abrasive to them.</p>
<p>I'd like the MIT admissions staff to rethink this "new direction" Ms. Jones has sent them down. There are plenty of schools out there for the daydreamers and those with sparkling personalities and that "something special." There should also be schools for ridiculously smart math/science kids.</p>
<p>How sad.</p>
<p>For so many.</p>
<p>It says a lot that the people defending and forgiving her know her. Who knows what makes good people do bad things, but a good number do.</p>
<p>Man, even as a student who was rejected from MIT, and as a person who is generally pretty cynical, I think a lot of you are being completely absurd.</p>
<p>All the comments about her "sitting in judgment" being a hypocrisy? Give me a ****ing break. Yeah, the fact that the specifically spoke out against misrepresentation was rather ironic and hypocritical, but come on, this woman isn't the Antichrist. She did a lot of good work. This whole thing is a huge mark against her - and an excellent example of letting a lie get out of hand - but for god's sake it's not like she's gone around trying to screw people her whole career. She did a great job - I disagree with a lot of her policies, but the whole caustic angry tone i this thread is disgusting. It sounds in a lot of ways like people are taking their resentment of the system (shadowy admissions officers sitting in judgment of students) out on the one example of one who screwed up (her prominence aside).</p>
<p>Grow up people. What Marilee did was terrible, but have some sense.</p>