<p>pebbles: As has been stated any number of times here, and answered by MIT admissions folks themselves, her initial hire with MIT was a "low-level" secretarial position that did not require any college degree-- at all. Oddly enough, she had one at the time, so why she lied about where she received that undergraduate degree (especially for a job that didn't require one at all) is beyond me. Why she added a masters to that on the resume from a school she also never attended--who knows. Again, that initial job hire required no college degree at all. Why she added a PhD at some point-- again--from another school she never attended--boggles the mind. One would have to wonder, since she put down 2 degrees on her resume, for a job that didn't require even one, if she had this plan in mind from the get-go. </p>
<p>So, I'm curious. What would those stats prove, or answer, or why would they matter?</p>
<p>They would answer my questions, and since I'm not involving myself in this discussion except to correct misinformation, they would matter only for my own research.</p>
<p>What kind of environment was it? I wonder what it was like (competitive? lonely? gutsy? no different?) being a woman applying for a position here.</p>
<p>Hmmmm????? From the NACAC intro about Marilee (after removal of Dr.)</p>
<p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>
<p>Saturday
September 29, 2007
3:45 p.m. 4:45 p.m.</p>
<p>Marilee Jones and Dr. Denise Pope
This keynote will discuss the stress students experience in high school and how preparing for admission to postsecondary institutions contributes to that stress. Is the pressure to succeed, especially the pressure to get good grades and get into college, turning schools into morally bankrupt academic boot camps?</p>
<p>Sorry, Pebbles, but I think you are being naive to think MIT was not full of female secretaries and low-level administrative assistants in the late 1970s. Do you think the receptionists, file clerks, secretaries and coffee brewers were male just because it was a tech institution? Maybe I've read the wrong info, but I am under the impression M. Jones's first job at MIT was secretarial, support staff.</p>
<p>I applied for a clerical position in the Bursar's Office in Sept 1976 (my boyfirend was a student at MIT). I was re-interviewed several times and waited almost 3 months before I heard that I had been hired. I did not have a college degree although I did have exeprience in banking. I was told I was hired because I was "good with numbers". The following year my office hired two other women who did have undergraduate degrees . Both of these women were married to graduate students and were working to pay some of the expenses. Many of the women working in "support" positions had degrees and were supporting graduate student husbands just like Marilee Jones. These positions were hard to get and highly sought after. I don't know why Marilee lied but unless she told the truth right away she probably would have been discharged. How would she have paid her expenses then? Her husband didn't receive his PHD until 1983 and worked as a Graduate Tutor in Burton House (not a very well paid position) Perhaps she was desperate.</p>
<p>The Boston metropolitan area isn't that small, folks. I don't believe anyone with Jones's personality, drive, AND a college degree in biology could have been so desperate for a support job that she was forced to make up phony degrees on her job application.</p>
<p>I think this thread has truly hit rock bottom now.</p>
<p>With all due respect, some of us just want information. Again, not everyone on this thread is either defending her or attacking her. Thanks for the info, halfpintvt. What was the working environment like? Were there lots of women? Was it competitive? Do you have any idea what the gender ratio was in terms of employees/employers/administrators, etc at MIT during that time?</p>
<p>The majority of the office workers were women. My immediate supervisor was a woman who had worked in the office for 20 years. The Bursar and Assistant Bursar were both men. I would say that there were definitely many more men in Management positions. There were women in junior administrative positions (like my immediate supervisor) but office managers generally were male. The majority of the Professors were male. There was a fair amount of turnover in the support staff. If you are only working at the Institute because your husband is a student, when he graduates and finds a job eleswhere you resign your position and go with him. </p>
<p>It did seem to me that MIT had a pretty well developed "good old boy" feeling.
My boss felt that a man should be paid more than a woman for doing the same job because the man had to support a family. That being said, I was given recognition for my work, offered additional training and I was promoted to a staff position after several years. I do feel that MIT has always been a place where hard work is recognized and opportunities are given to people who are willing to take the initiative. Perhaps that is what happened in Marilee Jones case. She found her niche and did well. Her efforts were recognized and rewarded. She felt like she had a purpose, and a place in the world apart from being someone's wife. How could she have given that up? Maybe after so many years she came to believe the lie herself. I don't feel that I can pass judgement on her. It's not how I would have done things but I have only lived my life. I haven't lived hers. To quote Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird "You never know someone until you step into their skin and walk around a little"</p>
<p>When I was in grad school, a lot of the mid-level administrative positions were staffed by women with a college degree working to support their husband's graduate studies.
The interesting thing here to me is that Marilee Jones did have a B.A. in Biology from St Rose, and that should have been more than enough for her to get the kind of job she started out with. The RPI degree was not in the least necessary. There was no need for her to lie about her qualifications.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Jones told the Globe in 2004 that when she first came to MIT with her husband, who was in graduate school, she had thought she would get a job in a lab, where a degree from RPI might have meant more.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>No need to lie for the job she was offered, but it seems that she hoped for a lab position.</p>
<p>Since Marilee apparently has not had contact with her alma mater recently, the following links are provided to help her reconnect.
Perhaps a friend that has her current email address can forward this on to her, to help her in her new job search. :)</p>
<p>Transcript Requests must be submitted in writing
and must include:</p>
<pre><code>* Your full name (include maiden name if applicable)
* Social Security number
* Dates of attendance (approximately) or date of graduation
* The complete address of where you would like the transcript to be mailed
* Your signature, to release information
* Transcript Fee: No ChargeLifetime Maximum of 20
</code></pre>
<p>
[quote]
Excusing her says to young people: You can lie and cheat and you'll still manage - to take a phrase from Jones' book - "to lead happy, successful lives." Is that a morality tale we preach in the 21st century?"
<p>"Maybe after so many years she came to believe the lie herself."</p>
<p>There is a name for that - delusional. Do you want delusional people running the admissions office? </p>
<p>Personally I doubt that she ever forgot for a minute where she went to college or that she had no graduate degrees. She lied when she applied to enhance her credentials (perhaps even needlessly - it turns out that they didn't really care where (or even if) she went to school for her entry level position) because she thought it would enhance her chances of getting the job. Later on (it's not clear at what point) she lied again when she prepared a resume with even more phony degrees on it. Again she must have thought that it would help her get the job and she must have realized that there was no fact checking going on. Lately, she was Dr. Marilee Jones, Ph.D. Such repeated offenses are not a sign of an innocent youthful "mistake" but the intentional acts of a pathological liar and manipulator. She clearly had the personality of a "self-promoter" and hypocrite. I have no desire to walk around in her repellent snake skin any more than I'd want to be one of those TV preachers who screw around at the same time they preach piety.</p>
<p>A comment on the job situation in Boston in the late '70: when I graduated in '75, the unemployment rate in Boston was 12%. Really. PhDs were driving cabs. Ford was president, and the massive inflation of the Carter years was about to hit. It was NOT easy to get a job. </p>
<p>It was in 1975 that the head of Houghton Mifflin (publishers) told me in an interview that they only hired women who could type, and that I needed to take a typing test if I wanted to work there. (Mind you, I'd gotten the interview because the man was a GOOD friend of my brother's.) They didn't get taken to court on that one until the early '80s.</p>
<p>Even in the face of massive discrimination and high unemployment, it's not right to lie about one's credentials. But I can understand the urge--especially if she was actually getting what was then called a PHT degree (Putting Hubby Through).</p>
[/quote]
Well, right about now I have the urge for a hot fudge Sunday and a nap. Later, I might have the urge to grab a few pricey items from a boutique & forget to pay. But I can do without the calories & the guilt of shoplifting, so I'll resist my urges. Frankly, I couldn't care less about her motivations. We'd all like to have things come the easy way, wouldn't we?</p>
<p>carolyn - while I understand your point, this is a college admissions board. I would expect issues related to admissions to dominate discussions. That's why most of us come here.</p>