Michael Thaddeus
Born (1967-01-12) January 12, 1967
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsAlgebraic geometry
InstitutionsHarvard University
University of Oxford
Columbia University
Institute for Advanced Study
ThesisAlgebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula (1992)
Doctoral advisorSimon Donaldson
Websitemath.columbia.edu/~thaddeus

Michael Thaddeus (born January 12, 1967) is an American mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Columbia University.[1] He is best known for having been a whistleblower in exposing deliberately misleading data submitted by Columbia University to U.S. News & World Report (USNWR)'s Best Colleges Ranking which exaggerated the university's college ranking.[2][3]

Early life and education

Thaddeus was born on January 12, 1967, in New York City, and grew up in Morningside Heights. His father, Patrick, and his mother, Janice, both obtained doctorates from Columbia University. Thaddeus was educated at St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School before enrolling at Hunter College High School in 1980, where he graduated in 1984.[4]

Thaddeus matriculated at Harvard University, where his sister was also a student, with the intent to study biology but switched to mathematics.[4] He graduated in 1988 and attained a Rhodes Scholarship to study at St John's College, Oxford, where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil).[5][6] His dissertation, Algebraic Geometry and the Verlinde Formula, was published in 1992 under the supervision of Simon Donaldson.[7]

Academic career

In 1994, Thaddeus was elected to become a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.[8] He was a postdoctoral researcher at the Mittag-Leffler Institute and the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute from 1994 and 1997.[4] In 1998, Thaddeus joined the mathematics faculty of Columbia University.[5] He has lectured at multiple institutions including Hunter College, Virginia Tech, and Creighton University, among others.[5] He specializes in algebraic geometry.[9]

Thaddeus was a member of the School of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study in 2001.[8] From 2017 to 2020, he was the chair of the math department at Columbia University.[4]

Columbia rankings exposé

Thaddeus' exposé, An Investigation of the Facts Behind Columbia’s U.S. News Ranking,[10] was published in February 2022, identifying discrepancies such as shrunken class sizes and the exaggeration of faculty credentials.[9] Due to Thaddeus' analysis, Columbia later dropped from having been ranked 2nd to being ranked 18th, sparking speculation about the integrity of college rankings.[11][12][13]

Selected publications

  • Thaddeus, Michael; Martens, Johan (October 30, 2012). "Variations on a theme of Grothendieck". arXiv:1210.8161 [math.AG].

References

  1. ↑ Diep, Francie (March 16, 2022). "Columbia Is Ranked No. 2 by 'U.S News.' A Professor Says Its Spot Is Based on False Data". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Columbia whistleblower on exposing college rankings: 'They are worthless'". the Guardian. 2022-09-16. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  3. ↑ Mendoza, Jordan (September 12, 2022). "Columbia University admits to reporting inaccurate data for US News college rankings". USA Today. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bernstein, Noah (February 28, 2023). "'The loyal opposition': Meet Michael Thaddeus, the math professor who took on Columbia". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  5. 1 2 3 "PBK - Michael Thaddeus". www.pbk.org. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  6. ↑ "32 FROM U.S. CHOSEN FOR RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS". The New York Times. 1987-12-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  7. ↑ Thaddeus, M. (2016). Algebraic geometry and the Verlinde formula (PhD thesis). University of Oxford.
  8. 1 2 "Michael Thaddeus | Professor". Arcade - Public Access. Columbia University. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  9. 1 2 Hartocollis, Anemona (2022-03-17). "U.S. News Ranked Columbia No. 2, but a Math Professor Has His Doubts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  10. ↑ "Columbia and U.S. News". www.math.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  11. ↑ Barron, James (2022-09-13). "Columbia Loses A-Plus Status in U.S. News Rankings". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  12. ↑ "Columbia professor questions university's #2 ranking on U.S. News". New York Daily News. 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  13. ↑ "Columbia University ranking scandal raises questions over sky-high value of an Ivy League education". money.yahoo.com. 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2023-08-25.


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