The Biggest B-School Scandals Of 2021

Fox School of Business Dean Moshe Porat was fired from his job on July 9, 2018. But his troubles were just beginning. File photo

RANKINGS FRAUD CASE AT TEMPLE FOX ENDS WITH FEDERAL CONVICTION OF FORMER DEAN

It was the scandal of the year — in 2018, and again in 2021. After four years of No. 1 online MBA rankings from U.S. News, Temple University Fox School of Business was left off the 2018 list entirely. Why? Fraud, plan and simple — and the school’s dean was responsible.

The Fox School, led by Dean Moshe Porat, had reported a slew of falsified data to boost their place in the rankings and rake in an estimated $40 million in extra tuition through subsequent soaring enrollment. After an internal investigation, the school dismissed Porat, who had been dean of Fox for more than two decades. But the story didn’t end there. In April 2021, Porat — then still a tenured professor at Fox — was hit with federal fraud charges. His trial in November ended with a guilty verdict and the possibility of a 25-year prison sentence. He will be sentenced in March.

Poets&Quants was more than the best source of coverage of Porat’s trial — our reporting was cited heavily by prosecutors in the case, and P&Q founder and editor-in-chief John Byrne was called to testify about the importance of rankings to Fox’s fiscal fate. See our extensive coverage of the case and subsequent trial via the links below.

How It Happened: Anatomy Of A Business School Rankings Fraud

Jones Day Investigation: Temple Dean Sacked Over Ranking Scandal

The Indictment: Former B-School Dean Indicted On Fraud Charges In MBA Rankings Scandal

MBA Rankings: Why Business Schools Are Willing To Cheat

Trial Coverage: Trial Begins For Ousted Temple Dean In Rankings Fraud Case

Day 1: ‘I Paid For Fine Dining, But I Got McDonald’s’: MBA Student Testifies In Rankings Fraud Trial

Day 1: ‘An Intimidating Man’ Who Made Staffers ‘Tremble’: Temple Vice Dean Testifies In Rankings Fraud Trial

Day 2: Ousted Dean: ‘Innocent Mistake’ Caused B-School To Be Thrown Out Of Ranking

Day 3: ‘Undergraduate Ethics Class’ Made Temple Fox Staffer Push For Correcting Inaccurate Data Reported To U.S. News

Day 4: Trying To Head Off An Independent Probe, Temple Fox Dean Tells Provost ‘If You’re In A Hole, Don’t Dig’

Day 5: Rankings Fraud Trial: Fox Dean Promoted Book In Wake Of Unranking

Day 6: Ousted Fox Dean Wanted App That Would Make His Messages ‘Disappear’