Stanford president to step down

Marc Tessier-Lavigne is stepping down as president of Stanford University following the release of a months-long investigation into research misconduct allegations that found he left mistakes in scientific papers uncorrected amid allegations of data manipulation.

News of his resignation was announced Wednesday.

Tessier-Lavigne said in a resignation letter that he was “gratified” that an investigative panel “concluded I did not engage in any fraud or falsification of scientific data.”

However, he noted that it was in the best interest of Stanford that he step down.

“Although the report clearly refutes the allegations of fraud and misconduct that were made against me, for the good of the University, I have made the decision to step down as President effective August 31,” Tessier-Lavigne wrote.

Tessier-Lavigne, a renowned neuroscientist, first faced claims of research misconduct in November when the Stanford Daily reported on allegations that several research articles he co-authored in the early 2000s contained manipulated images. Tessier-Lavigne has denied the research misconduct claims from the beginning, pushing back forcefully at times on the newspaper, which he accused of making a “string of false allegations” and unfairly questioning his integrity.

The newspaper has stood by its reporting, with the student reporter who first broke the news winning a prestigious 2022 George Polk Award in Journalism for his scoop on the president.

At a school known for its research prowess, the allegations of misconduct landed hard. Stanford faculty members have expressed mixed reactions, with some encouraging the president to step down amid questions over his research while others cautioned against a rush to judgment.

Stanford responded by creating a Board of Trustees committee to investigate the claims, later adding a panel of research experts and a law firm to the effort. The board has indicated that the effort involved “hundreds of hours of meetings and witness interviews” with more than 26,000 documents reviewed as part of an in-depth investigation.

Allegations of research misconduct hung over Tessier-Lavigne for months as he battled other public relations challenges, including a free speech controversy at Stanford Law School, which prompted the president to apologize to a conservative judge shouted down by students in March. Critics have also raised concerns about student suicide rates, and the university is currently being sued by the family of former soccer star Katie Meyer, who died by suicide last year.

Tessier-Lavigne’s condemnations of the student newspaper’s coverage of his alleged research misconduct also prompted scrutiny from outside observers who questioned whether the president should make such an aggressive public defense amid an ongoing investigation.

(This is a developing story, which will be updated as information becomes available.)