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April 28, 2007
an uneducated dean excels at MIT
The dean of admissions at MIT, one of the premier academic institutions in the country, never graduated from college. Unfortunately, when she applied for an entry-level position at MIT 28-years ago, she said she had.
Most people see this as an issue of integrity, and rightly so. But what is more fascinating to me is that she was considered one of the best in her field. Here is a woman who doesn't have an undergraduate degree, excelling in an academic environment.
When she first applied to MIT in 1979, she probably could have gotten that entry-level position without a college degree. Would that academic institution have let her rise to the level of dean? I doubt it.
In my mind, the moral of the story is that you don't need academic degrees to make a big impact in academia. Unfortunately, unless you get those degrees -- or are comfortable lying about it -- there's little chance they'll let you in the front door.
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