There is no university in the United States more prestigious than Stanford University. There is no position in American higher education more prestigious than the presidency of Stanford University. There is no lowlier creature on the campus of Stanford University than a first semester freshman. In the parlance of my field, then, the president of Stanford is, ordinarily, a powerful leader, and a first semester freshman is, ordinarily, a powerless follower.
But, as I have many times remarked, not every follower follows, at least not all the time. Sometimes, despite their lack of power, and authority, and influence, followers not only do not follow their leaders they take them on. Moreover, on rare occasions a lowly follower knocks a high and mighty leader straight off their perch.
Which is precisely what happened one week ago when the president of Stanford University, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, resigned. He felt obliged to quit his post when it was revealed that some of his scientific work, going back decades, contained significant flaws.
Which raises the question of why, given that some of his questionable research was conducted and the results published years ago did the whole truth surface only now. The answer: because a lowly freshman, Theo Baker, a freshly minted journalist for the Stanford Daily News, did some old-fashioned investigative reporting. He spent countless hours chasing down earlier allegations that had long lain fallow, only to unearth some deeply embarrassing truths. After an extended and extensive review, an outside panel of scientists (assembled by Stanford’s board) concluded that the president of the University indeed was guilty of, or at least responsible for, one or more studies that “fell below customary standards of scientific rigor.”
Baker, it should be noted, was not left to go about his work in peace. Quite the contrary. Several aggressive letters were sent by Stephen Neal, Tessier-Lavigne’s attorney, to the Stanford Daily, either requesting retractions of what had already been published, or seeking to block more articles along similar lines. But Baker was on a mission – a mission that a week ago he accomplished. At a minimum his spadework revealed that Tessier-Lavigne was less than fully rigorous about his scientific work, and less than fully honest. This as president of a university that boasts of being among the most prestigious research universities in the world.
It’s exceedingly rare for a follower so ostensibly weak to take down a leader so ostensibly strong. It’s rarer still when that follower is just 18 years old – and the leader is among the most eminent members of the American establishment.