UPDATE: The Boston Globe's Carolyn Johnson reports that embattled researcher Marc Hauser will not be teaching at Harvard next spring, despite reports to the contrary. "He will not be teaching; he will not be in the classroom at Harvard next year," says Susan Carey, the chairwoman of Harvard's psychology department. "A large majority of the members of the department of psychology voted in February to not offer courses taught by Professor Hauser during the 2011-2012 academic year," says Harvard spokesman Jeff Neal. Neal adds the Harvard Crimson was incorrect when it reported that Hauser would be back and teaching two courses next spring. It is still unclear what Hauser's role will be at the university next fall, Johnson says, and the sanctions taken against him by Harvard for misconduct remain undisclosed.
Once esteemed by colleagues and students alike, Harvard researcher Marc Hauser's star came crashing to earth last August after it was discovered that he may have fabricated data in some of his most well-known studies, and that the university was investigating his lab for misconduct. A few days later, Harvard found Hauser solely responsible for eight counts of misconduct, and although the consequences to Hauser were kept confidential, he went on leave and classes he had been planning to teach were cancelled, reports Heidi Ledford at Nature's Great Beyond blog. In an exclusive statement to the New York Times last August, Hauser expressed a wish to go back to teaching and research. Now, Ledford says, he has gotten his wish, and will be teaching two courses next spring, "Psychology 1066: 'Origins of Evil' and Psychology 2381: 'Hot Topics in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience'." Additionally, his lab at Harvard remains open, but the Harvard Crimson reports it is under additional oversight by the university.