Why Francesca Gino is suing Harvard after losing tenure | Full interview

Francesca Gino is the first professor in Harvard University’s long history to lose her tenure. The former Harvard Business School professor built a reputation studying honesty and dishonesty, decision-making and ethics, workplace dynamics and productivity. She became one of the most prominent researchers in her field, and, at one point, was the fifth highest-paid Harvard employee. Then, in 2021, behavioral scientists behind the blog Data Colada accused Gino of research misconduct. After a years-long investigation, Harvard formally revoked her tenure in May 2025. Gino is now suing Harvard, alleging discrimination and breach of contract. Harvard has countersued, alleging Gino defamed the university and sent investigators a falsified dataset. Gino visited GBH News' studio in Boston for her first major media interview since losing her job. She spoke with GBH’s Kirk Carapezza about the allegations against her, the research that sparked the controversy, and why she thinks former president Claudine Gay and other administrators forced her out. She also shares how losing her tenure has affected her family, and why she’s accepted funding from Bill Ackman, an alum and prominent critic of Harvard. “One of the most common biases in decision research is the confirmation bias – that you look for the thing that confirms the fact that you're correct rather than looking for the evidence that suggests that you're not,” Gino told Carapezza. “And so when I wake up with my positive mindset on, I still hope that my co-authors or the general public will look at my side and say, ‘Okay, let's engage with it.’” 0:00 Intro 1:09 What do you make of Harvard’s misconduct findings? 1:40 How do you argue you didn’t commit research misconduct? 3:00 How do you explain the data discrepancies? 5:51 Were male professors at Harvard treated differently? 6:28 When did you learn Harvard was revoking your tenure? 8:37 How did losing tenure affect you and your family? 10:19 Did losing Harvard feel like losing your identity? 11:13 What are you seeking in damages? 12:24 Do you still think suing Harvard was the right thing to do? 14:09 Why take Bill Ackman’s money? 16:27 Could Bill Ackman’s politics undermine your case? 17:05 How do you know Claudine Gay forced you out? 18:29 What evidence supports the “make an example” claim? 18:55 Why would Harvard want to make an example of you? 19:40 Have other Harvard faculty have engaged in misconduct? 21:49 Why do you think you were the exception? 22:55 Is Harvard trying to protect its reputation? 23:37 Do you buy the “attention economy” argument? 26:49 What would you say to your former co-authors? 28:46 How does it feel to speak out now? 30:10 Is bringing Claudine Gay into it “mudslinging”? 31:22 What have you learned since losing tenure? 33:25 What do you miss most about Harvard? 34:44 What are you doing now? 36:16 Will AI threaten universities like Harvard? 37:18 Is there anything else you want to add? GBH News is a premier source for in-depth local news and original story telling based in Boston, Massachusetts. Subscribe to the GBH News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/gbhnews?sub... Subscribe to our GBH Daily newsletter at https://www.wgbh.org/daily?utm_Newsle... Follow GBH News on Instagram:   / gbhnews   Like GBH News on Facebook:   / gbhnews   Visit our website: https://www.wgbh.org/news Support GBH and help shape a future where facts matter, stories unite us, and everyone has access to quality media. Join us. Fund the Future: https://bit.ly/FundtheFutureYT