AmericanWannabe
Registered Users (C)
I heard ISU decided to keep Cao's employment,
thinking current academic capabilities are more important
than undergraduate academic records. Don't know if
INS settled this or not
Iowa State professor's record is subject of probe
Li Cao's academic credentials may be fake, authorities say.
By STACI HUPP
Register Staff Writer
09/30/2002
Ames, Ia. - An Iowa State University professor is under investigation after a complaint that she used fake academic records to study and work in the United States, federal officials said last week.
ISU and other colleges inside and outside Iowa typically scrutinize the transcripts of foreign students who want to enroll, but the schools have no uniform process for checks on faculty. The University of Iowa is weighing stricter faculty background checks for next fall, officials said.
The investigation at ISU involves Li Cao, an assistant mechanical engineering professor. Officials at the Immigration and Naturalization Service want to know whether Cao submitted phony academic transcripts in her application for a visa - essentially a permit to remain in the United States.
No charges have been filed, agents said. Visa fraud carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Cao's academic record also has been questioned by the National Science Foundation, a group that awards federal money to universities for fellowships and research in science and engineering. The foundation awarded Cao a $375,000 grant this year for a seven-year research project involving engineering and biotechnology, according to a letter obtained by The Des Moines Register.
The science foundation requested that Cao supply copies of her transcripts, diplomas and other materials from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology. Foundation officials also asked for copies of documents she submitted to ISU, the letter shows.
"Certain questions have arisen in regard to your educational background," the letter says.
University of Minnesota officials said Cao received a doctorate in 2000. University of Cincinnati officials would not say whether Cao had received master's and bachelor's degrees there.
Cao referred questions last week to Paul Tanaka, ISU's director of university legal services. Tanaka declined to comment.
Immigration officials said complaints from Cao's husband, a former ISU graduate student, stirred their interest. The science foundation also requested records about Cao from the immigration service, said Estelle Biesemeyer, an immigration agent.
Ziyi Dai, Cao's husband at the time, was arrested last December for attacking his wife with a knife, cutting her fingers, hands and arm. In February, he was accused of planning to kill her. Charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder were dropped when Dai, 29, pleaded guilty to reduced charges. He was sentenced two weeks ago to 15 years in prison.
Dai accuses Cao of setting him up so he wouldn't tell police she faked her way into the United States.
Cao has taught mechanical engineering classes at ISU. Her research has been published in national and international journals, the ISU Web site shows.
Admissions offices at U.S. schools require applications and a stack of academic records from international students.
Universities spend time and money to pinpoint bogus grades, test scores and transcripts from foreign students. Questionable schools and advising agencies have multiplied around the world.
Detectives in Kenya this year arrested 21 people at the Ministry of Education headquarters for their alleged involvement in a scam to sell fake diplomas, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
ISU and other schools nab up to 15 phony transcripts from foreign students each year, said Patricia Parker, ISU's assistant director of admissions.
Parker said some agencies overseas are charging universities up to $5 for each background check.
"So far we've gotten away without paying it, but I think it's going to be a bigger problem" in the future, Parker said.
Credentials have been a problem in other recent cases, too.
University of Iowa officials started talking about a procedure for credentials after the University of Notre Dame's football coach quit last winter amid the discovery of false information on his resume, said Lee Anna Clark, the U of I's associate provost for faculty.
ISU, the U of I and other schools have no formal credential review for faculty members. Some schools pay the Educational Credential Evaluators, a nonprofit group in Milwaukee, Wis., to check the credentials of students and faculty. Most requests cost $85.
In February, an ISU assistant football coach acknowledged that he misrepresented in the team's media guide how many academic degrees he had. The coach, Charlie Partridge, indicated in the publication that he had master's degrees from Drake University and ISU. Partridge later acknowledged he was still working toward a master's degree. An ISU journalism class found the inaccuracy as students examined the backgrounds of coaches and university administrators.
A former Cyclone volleyball coach pleaded guilty in August 1999 of lying on her job application. Kerry Miller quit her job the previous spring after it was revealed that parts of her resume, including a claim that she was a University of Arizona graduate, were false.
thinking current academic capabilities are more important
than undergraduate academic records. Don't know if
INS settled this or not
Iowa State professor's record is subject of probe
Li Cao's academic credentials may be fake, authorities say.
By STACI HUPP
Register Staff Writer
09/30/2002
Ames, Ia. - An Iowa State University professor is under investigation after a complaint that she used fake academic records to study and work in the United States, federal officials said last week.
ISU and other colleges inside and outside Iowa typically scrutinize the transcripts of foreign students who want to enroll, but the schools have no uniform process for checks on faculty. The University of Iowa is weighing stricter faculty background checks for next fall, officials said.
The investigation at ISU involves Li Cao, an assistant mechanical engineering professor. Officials at the Immigration and Naturalization Service want to know whether Cao submitted phony academic transcripts in her application for a visa - essentially a permit to remain in the United States.
No charges have been filed, agents said. Visa fraud carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
Cao's academic record also has been questioned by the National Science Foundation, a group that awards federal money to universities for fellowships and research in science and engineering. The foundation awarded Cao a $375,000 grant this year for a seven-year research project involving engineering and biotechnology, according to a letter obtained by The Des Moines Register.
The science foundation requested that Cao supply copies of her transcripts, diplomas and other materials from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of Cincinnati in Ohio and the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology. Foundation officials also asked for copies of documents she submitted to ISU, the letter shows.
"Certain questions have arisen in regard to your educational background," the letter says.
University of Minnesota officials said Cao received a doctorate in 2000. University of Cincinnati officials would not say whether Cao had received master's and bachelor's degrees there.
Cao referred questions last week to Paul Tanaka, ISU's director of university legal services. Tanaka declined to comment.
Immigration officials said complaints from Cao's husband, a former ISU graduate student, stirred their interest. The science foundation also requested records about Cao from the immigration service, said Estelle Biesemeyer, an immigration agent.
Ziyi Dai, Cao's husband at the time, was arrested last December for attacking his wife with a knife, cutting her fingers, hands and arm. In February, he was accused of planning to kill her. Charges of attempted murder and solicitation to commit murder were dropped when Dai, 29, pleaded guilty to reduced charges. He was sentenced two weeks ago to 15 years in prison.
Dai accuses Cao of setting him up so he wouldn't tell police she faked her way into the United States.
Cao has taught mechanical engineering classes at ISU. Her research has been published in national and international journals, the ISU Web site shows.
Admissions offices at U.S. schools require applications and a stack of academic records from international students.
Universities spend time and money to pinpoint bogus grades, test scores and transcripts from foreign students. Questionable schools and advising agencies have multiplied around the world.
Detectives in Kenya this year arrested 21 people at the Ministry of Education headquarters for their alleged involvement in a scam to sell fake diplomas, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
ISU and other schools nab up to 15 phony transcripts from foreign students each year, said Patricia Parker, ISU's assistant director of admissions.
Parker said some agencies overseas are charging universities up to $5 for each background check.
"So far we've gotten away without paying it, but I think it's going to be a bigger problem" in the future, Parker said.
Credentials have been a problem in other recent cases, too.
University of Iowa officials started talking about a procedure for credentials after the University of Notre Dame's football coach quit last winter amid the discovery of false information on his resume, said Lee Anna Clark, the U of I's associate provost for faculty.
ISU, the U of I and other schools have no formal credential review for faculty members. Some schools pay the Educational Credential Evaluators, a nonprofit group in Milwaukee, Wis., to check the credentials of students and faculty. Most requests cost $85.
In February, an ISU assistant football coach acknowledged that he misrepresented in the team's media guide how many academic degrees he had. The coach, Charlie Partridge, indicated in the publication that he had master's degrees from Drake University and ISU. Partridge later acknowledged he was still working toward a master's degree. An ISU journalism class found the inaccuracy as students examined the backgrounds of coaches and university administrators.
A former Cyclone volleyball coach pleaded guilty in August 1999 of lying on her job application. Kerry Miller quit her job the previous spring after it was revealed that parts of her resume, including a claim that she was a University of Arizona graduate, were false.