It’s a story you couldn’t really write as fiction — because these things only happen in real life. Francesca Gino, famous researcher into honesty and ethical behavior, became the first tenured prof to be fired in a dispute over fraud since tenure was developed in the 1940s.

Working at Harvard Business School (2010 and 2023), she was the fifth highest paid professor at the university, according to Newsweek. Her output was massive; She had over 140 articles and two books on leadership to her credit.

Her 2018 book Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life, “focused on the idea of ‘positive deviance’ at work, researching how people who rebel via curiosity and drive can have a beneficial impact on their workforces and partnerships.” (Newsweek). It was the top business book in 2019.

But then,

Gino was first accused of falsifying data in 2021 by a website called Data Colada which analyses studies. Data Colada accused Gino and a team of researchers of misstating findings in a 2012 study on honesty. The paper was then retracted.

According to Gino’s filings against Harvard, Data Colada pointed to four studies authored by Gino in total that they claim created “concerns about perceived anomalies and “fraud” in the data.”

In 2023, Gino was placed on leave by the university following an internal investigation into the claims against her. Data Colada’s collection of evidence against Gino was compiled in a September 2023 blog post on their site. She has denied all allegations of fraud and has said her inability to access data and information from Harvard is making it difficult for her to prove her case.

Sophie Clark, “Who Is Francesca Gino? Professor’s Harvard Fraud Dispute Explained,” May 27, 2025

Gino denies all charges.

At Newsweek, Sophie Clark reminds us, “Her firing comes after former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned from her position in 2024 following accusations of academic plagiarism. And, amid the ongoing lawsuits and debates between Harvard and the Trump Administration.”

The difficulty for Harvard is that its motto is Veritas (Truth). If so, there has to be a hard limit on the rule-breaking. Otherwise, Harvard forfeits any moral authority in, for example, the current conflict with the U.S. administration over anti-Semitism on campus.