Dive Brief:
- The former president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences repeatedly lied on federal and private grant applications about having a doctorate degree, according to an investigation by the academy.
- The report also states that Leslie Berlowitz, who resigned as president eight months ago, manipulated the process that set her compensation in order to boost her pay by nearly $2.2 million over the years, which will require the nonprofit honor society to amend its tax returns.
- The report by the academy is its first public acknowledgement of Berlowitz’s alleged misconduct. The investigation was launched after the Boston Globe reported about her doctorate and pay issues.
Dive Insight:
Yet another head-slapping, what-were-they-thinking story about résumé falsification by a prominent figure. Among the findings of the academy's report: Berlowitz falsely claimed the fictional doctorate degree on 18 grant proposals that won a combined $2.4 million for the academy, and she emailed her resume with the doctorate several times. Her total compensation was “unreasonable” for a nonprofit with an $8 million budget — at least $598,000 in 2011, for example, which was 87% more than her peers at similar nonprofit agencies. Instead of using an outside consultant, as recommended by its attorneys, the academy’s board relied on Berlowitz’s recommendations in setting her own pay. Berlowitz steered the process by picking nonprofits with substantially larger budgets to compare the academy to, such as Wellesley College, with more than 3,000 employees, compared to the 52 employed by the academy. Berlowitz, who is undergoing cancer treatment, says the report is inaccurate and unfair.