MIT admissions dean resigns amid scandal

After admitting to falsifying her academic credentials, MIT Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones resigned yesterday.

"I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my resume when I applied for my current job or at any time since," she said in a statement posted on MIT's website.

Throughout her time at MIT, Jones was believed to have received degrees from Albany Medical College, Union College and Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), when in fact none of the three institutions had conferred a degree on her, MIT Chancellor Phillip Clay explained in a statement.

An RPI official confirmed that Jones had been a part-time student at the Troy, N.Y., school during the 1974-75 academic year, though she did not officially matriculate. Albany Medical College and Union College had no records in her name.

Jones started work in the MIT admissions office in an entry-level position that did not require a college degree, Clay said. By the time she was under consideration for the position of dean of admissions, Jones had already become a central figure in the office, holding the positions of assistant dean and associate dean. Thus, MIT did not make any effort to check her credentials at that time.

About a week and a half ago, however, MIT received information that threw Jones' credentials into question. Several days of investigation were enough for the institution to ask for her resignation Monday.

Jones' resignation is effective immediately and was announced to MIT faculty and students in an email yesterday.

"I am deeply sorry for this and for disappointing so many in the MIT community and beyond who supported me, believed in me and who have given me extraordinary opportunities," Jones said in a statement.

As dean of admissions, Jones advised high school students vying for scarce spots at America's elite undergraduate institutions to focus on their personal development and pursue their passions and forego the hectic resume-building popular among students today.

Jones coauthored the 2006 book "Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen through College Admissions and Beyond," which brought her press coverage as students were applying to college this year.

Despite lacking the appropriate credentials, Jones has worked at MIT for decades, and served as a mentor to students across the country with her distress initiative. Her long history at MIT not withstanding, the administration said that the decision was not difficult to make.

"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," Clay told The New York Times. "This is a very sad situation for her and for the institution. We have obviously placed a lot of trust in her."