MIT continues to pay prof who took Jeffrey Epstein donations, even after severe COVID-19 cuts
MIT professor Seth Lloyd, who accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Jeffrey Epstein, will be allowed to continue teaching after being placed on paid leave for nearly a year.
The announcement comes after MIT implemented hiring freezes and raise suspensions due to COVID-induced budgetary concerns early this year.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology physics professor Seth Lloyd — who accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — will continue to receive compensation from the university, and will eventually return to his teaching job.
As Campus Reform previously reported, Lloyd was fully aware of $850,000 donated to MIT over a period of 15 years. He was the direct recipient of $225,000 in research donations received after Epstein’s conviction.
Lloyd also failed to disclose a $60,000 “personal gift” from Epstein.
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The university placed Lloyd, a tenured professor, on paid administrative leave in January.
In December, MIT Provost Martin Schmidt announced the decision of a senior faculty review panel charged with determining Lloyd’s punishment. The panel found Lloyd guilty of violating the school’s conflict of interest policy. By “failing to inform MIT that Epstein was a convicted sex offender,” Lloyd violated the school’s faculty misconduct policy.
Schmidt recommended a set of disciplinary actions to “limit” Lloyd’s compensation, ability to solicit donors and to participate in freshman undergraduate advising. Before resuming his teaching responsibilities, Lloyd “will be expected to undergo training on professional conduct.”
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Although Lloyd will continue to receive some degree of compensation and will eventually return to his teaching after being placed on paid leave for nearly one year, the university announced earlier in 2020 hiring freezes and other cuts to employee compensation as a result of COVID-19 financial strains.
In April, the university stated that it would pause hiring “except for essential personnel.”
The administration encouraged all units to “rework their FY21 budgets to reduce expenses and reflect anticipated additional savings from the hiring pause.”
The university also suspended merit increases for faculty.
Campus Reform reached out to MIT for comment and will update this article accordingly.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
