Pennsylvania Archives - Checks and Balances Project

Penn State Stonewalling on Pay-to-Play Academics Hits 250-Day Mark

2017-06-28

For more than 250 days (roughly eight months), Penn State has been unable or unwilling to answer basic questions on how Professor John O’Neill’s pay-to-play research by meets University ethics guidelines.

New Tip Raises Questions About Penn State V.P. Neil Sharkey

2017-05-25

A Cover-Up of Play-to-Play Academic Research? We received an anonymous tip from a concerned member of Penn State community that raises a new question about how the relationship between Vice President Neil Sharkey, College of Health and Human Services Dean Ann C. “Nan” Crouter and School of Hospitality Management (SHM) Professor John W. O’Neill may… Read more »

Will Penn State Investigate Professor John O’Neill for Pay-to-Play Research?

2017-05-15

Since October 2016, we have been reporting on how Penn State School of Hospitality Management (SHM) Professor John O’Neill is using his position at the University not only to bolster his consulting practice, but also to increase the credibility of the hotel lobby pay-to-play research he conducts on behalf of his client, the American Hotel… Read more »

Penn State Professor O’Neill Hired by Hotel Lobby for Pay-to-Play Research

2017-04-18

New documents uncovered by Checks and Balances Project show that Penn State Professor John W. O’Neill has peddled hotel-industry talking points as scholarship while failing to disclose his longstanding, commercial relationships.

Penn State Circles the Wagons Around Professor O’Neill

2017-04-12

We received a letter from Vice President of Research Neil Sharkey last Thursday informing us that Professor O’Neill has been found in compliance with Penn State policy. Dr. Sharkey’s terse reply leaves many basic questions unanswered.

Did Dean Crouter Ignore Penn State Hiring Policy to Anoint Professor O’Neill?

2017-02-28

Following up on an anonymous tip we received last December, Checks and Balances Project took a harder look at the role that Dr. Ann C. Crouter, dean of Penn State’s College of Health and Human Services, may have played in Professor John O’Neill’s ascension to director of the School of Hospitality Management (SHM).

Anonymous Tip from Penn State: “There is a bigger story here.”

2017-01-23

In late December, we received an anonymous tip in the mail from a reader about our ongoing inquiry into possible ethics violations by Penn State Professor John W. O’Neill of the School of Hospitality Management, who has produced research highly favorable to the hotel lobby..

Penn State Confirms Professor John O’Neill Under Ethics Investigation

2017-01-17

University Official’s Assurance Undercut by O’Neill, Raising New Questions It’s been three months since we began contacting officials at Penn State about potential ethics problems with School of Hospitality Management (SHM) Professor John W. O’Neill. On Jan. 9, 2017, a University official confirmed Conflict of Interest (COI) investigators are looking into questions we’ve raised about… Read more »

Unraveling Penn State’s Confusing Ethics Oversight

2017-01-9

Questions About Professor’s Ties to Hotel Lobby Uncover an Ethics Labyrinth Since October of last year, we’ve been reporting on the potential ethics violations of Professor John W. O’Neill of Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management (SHM). He appears to be operating a private consulting practice on campus, using the University’s prestige to increase the… Read more »

Who Is Investigating Questions about Professor O’Neill’s Ethics?

2016-12-29

Our reporting has found strong evidence indicating Penn State Professor John W. O’Neill is using his position at the School of Hospitality Management to bolster his consulting practice and credibility of his hotel lobby-funded research. If true, this would violate the university’s ethics standards. So, we were encouraged to learn via a Dec. 17 Centre Daily Times… Read more »