University of Missouri-Kansas City professor Michael Song has resigned. He was at the center of the controversy surrounding UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Management.
Song said his presence had become a distraction.
“For the best interests of the students and programs, I have reluctantly decided to resign from UMKC so that everyone can focus on doing the important thing — training the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators,” Songsaid in a press release issued by UMKC.
UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton accepted Song’s resignation and thanked him for his service.
“Students get a first-rate education in entrepreneurship through the programs developed during his time here,” Morton said.
Song headed the Bloch School’s entrepreneurship program when a paper ranking UMKC as first in innovation management. He was ranked by the study as the top scholar in the field.
A story published in the Kansas City Star raised questions about that ranking and noting Song’s connections with the UMKC visiting scholars who wrote the paper.
Earlier this month, the University of Missouri Board of Curator released the results of an independent study. It found that the study’s authors did not disclose their relationship with Song though the research followed generally accepted standards procedures. The report also found UMKC, under Song's guidance, submitted false data to the Princeton Review.
The Princeton Review later stripped the school of its top-25 ranking for 2014. The organization also rescinded the university’s ranking for the previous three years at UMKC’s request.
KCUR is licensed to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.
