Stanford University¡¯s president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, has agreed to resign after months of internal investigations found the neuroscientist did not correct known errors in his published research articles.

The decision caps nearly a year of internal investigation and?campus turmoil?sparked by online complaints and a?subsequent investigation?by the campus student newspaper,?The Stanford Daily, that over time raised questions about apparent data manipulation in a dozen research papers involving Professor Tessier-Lavigne.

Announcing the conclusion of the investigation, the chairman of Stanford¡¯s board of trustees, Jerry Yang,??to end the Canadian-born president¡¯s seven-year tenure.

¡°In light of the report and its impact on his ability to lead Stanford, the board decided to accept President Tessier-Lavigne¡¯s resignation and agrees with him that it is in the university¡¯s best interests,¡± said Mr Yang, a Stanford alumnus and co-founder of the internet services company Yahoo.

51³Ô¹Ï

In his?, Professor Tessier-Lavigne emphasised that the university¡¯s investigation found no evidence that he was guilty of any ¡°fraud or any other unethical conduct related to my research and papers¡±.

Yet the university¡¯s 95-page investigative report ¡°identified some areas where I should have done better, and I accept the report¡¯s conclusions¡±, Professor Tessier-Lavigne said. In particular, he said, ¡°I agree that in some instances I should have been more diligent when seeking corrections, and I regret that I was not¡±.

51³Ô¹Ï

Professor Tessier-Lavigne insisted he knew nothing of any research data manipulation by anyone else in his lab, but said that he took responsibility for their work.

As a result of the investigation, Professor Tessier-Lavigne will move to retract or issue extensive corrections to at least five journal articles for which he was principal author.

Professor Tessier-Lavigne will leave the Stanford presidency at the end of August and continue in his position as a tenured professor of biology, the trustees said.

Richard Saller, a professor of classics and former dean of humanities and sciences at Stanford, will become the university¡¯s interim president in September.

51³Ô¹Ï

Stanford is one of the world¡¯s top-ranked research universities, and the investigation took the campus community from initial days of disbelief to a growing realisation that the underlying accusations had merit and were causing widespread distractions.

Both Professor Tessier-Lavigne and Mr Yang listed the highlights of his presidency as including the creation of Stanford¡¯s first new school in 70 years, the School of Sustainability, focused on the global climate crisis.

Though not related to Covid, Professor Tessier-Lavigne¡¯s departure follows a string of resignations by campus leaders across the US as the pandemic has eased. They include Stanford¡¯s high-profile neighbour, the University of California, Berkeley, where Carol Christ, the institution¡¯s first female chancellor, has said she will retire in June 2024.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com