Through an unprecedented move in over 80 years, Harvard University has revoked the lifetime tenure of behavioral economist Francesca Gino, accused of manipulating data in numerous scientific studies.
The decision has deeply unsettled the academic world, not only because of the seriousness of the accusations but also because of the figure involved: Gino was considered an authority in the field of ethics and behavior.
The Harvard Business School professor had already been suspended in 2023 following revelations from the blog “Data Colada” run by three scholars. According to what emerged, the researchers identified anomalies in several publications co-authored by Gino over more than a decade, bringing to light alleged falsified data.
The university officially confirmed the revocation of her position after an 18-month internal investigation, which established the professor’s responsibility for “research misconduct.” A university spokesperson, however, avoided going into details, specifying that the institution does not comment on personal matters. The professor herself has not yet issued any public statements.
No faculty member had lost tenure at the campus since the 1940s, when the American Association of University Professors formalized the rules for dismissing professors. The news was reported by the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson, which reconstructed the key events of the case.
The researcher, who had been with Harvard since 2010, served as head of the Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets Unit between 2018 and 2021. Her work has been widely covered by international outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NBC News.
Faced with the accusations, the scholar has always denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be a victim of a flawed and biased procedure. In June 2023, she filed a $25 million lawsuit against the university and the founders of Data Colada, arguing that the investigation was conducted under a new internal policy created specifically for her case.
The following September, a federal judge dismissed the defamation claims but acknowledged that the university might have violated the academic contract with her by imposing disciplinary measures contrary to its official policies.
Gino recently launched a website dedicated to her legal defense, where she firmly reiterated that she has never engaged in academic fraud. In an update published in March 2024, she wrote that although she had been advised to refrain from public comment, she felt the need to declare her innocence. She also announced her intention to fight the case in court, supported by experts who, she claims, were denied to her during the internal investigation.
