P&Q’s Must Reads: If Harvard Succeeds In Revoking Francesca Gino’s Tenure, It Would Be History Making

Hello everyone  — Welcome back to Poets&Quants’ Must Reads, a quick, digestible recap of the top business school news, sponsored by CentreCourt, P&Q’s virtual admission events.

I’m your host, Kristy Bleizeffer, and I’ll be highlighting the most important P&Q stories you might have missed. So, let’s get to it. 

No. 1: If Harvard Succeeds In Revoking Francesca Gino’s Tenure, It Would Be History Making 

If Harvard Business School is successful in stripping Professor Francesca Gino of tenure, it could be the very first time any faculty member at Harvard University has lost the lifetime protection tenure offers a faculty member. 

Harvard’s Office of the President notified Gino that it had begun the process of reviewing her tenure on July 28 over allegations of research misconduct.  Gino has filed a $25 million lawsuit against Harvard, HBS Dean Datar and the authors of the Data Colada blog that initially alleged data fraud in her research.

If Gino loses tenure, it would likely be the first time Harvard University has forcibly stripped a tenured faculty member’s position since the 1940s.

This story by P&Q editor John Byrne outlines the tenure process Gino faces, as well as the difficult time Harvard may have of it. You can find it in our news tab.

No. 2: Highest-Paying MBA Specializations 

In today’s competitive business world, an MBA can help you supercharge your career. But not all MBA degrees are created equal.

A key aspect that can make your MBA degree stand out from the rest is specialization. Specialized MBA degrees provide a specific set of skills that can lead to career growth and enhanced earnings.

US News recently rounded up some of the highest paying MBA specializations using data from Payscale. You can see which specializations yield the highest paychecks now in our trending tab.

No. 3 Acceptance Rates & Yield At The Top 50 U.S. MBA Programs 

In spring 2022, Poets&Quants reported that the window of opportunity to get into a “reach” business school in the United States had narrowed dramatically. Applications were up, acceptance rates were down, and yield — the percentage of admits who actually enroll — was on the rise across the board, all of which suggested that the leading MBA programs had fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and were returning to their normal, highly selective selves.

That prediction may have been a bit premature.

At the elite B-schools of the top 50 U.S. MBA programs as ranked by Poets&Quants, acceptance rates have climbed back up. You see which schools are accepting more students in our full list, up now on our homepage.

No. 4: Our Weekly Round Up of  News You Can Use

No matter where you are in your MBA journey, we bring several helpful stories for you this week.

First up: A.I. Specializations & Certificates For MBAs. This story, now on our homepage, also offers valuable MBA resume and recommendation advice. 

Next: Why You Should Consider An International MBA. This story explains why now is a great time to apply, and gives top tips from admissions insiders on LBS, INSEAD, HEC & IE. You can find it in our admission tab. 

Finally: Who Should Retake A 730 GMAT? In this story from our MBA Handicapping series, we put a M7 prospect through the ringer to gauge his chances of landing a top school. Find it in our admissions tab. 

And, that’s it for this week’s Must Reads recap. 

I also want to alert school seekers to Centre Court’s upcoming MBA Festival. You’ll hear from alumni and career experts from leading business schools about how the MBA can fast-track your career. Our next event is Oct. 3-4, and you can register now for free.

Again, I’m Kristy Bleizeffer, and you can join me next week, right here, for a recap of what’s important in the world of business education. Thanks for listening and, as always, stay informed!