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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard is investigating its long-time fencing coach after learning he sold his house at an extremely inflated price to the father of a current student shortly before his admission.
The coaching survey, Peter Brand, comes as universities across the country are struggling to respond to a broad investigation into college admissions fraud, which has raised questions about the recruitment of athletes and the fact that coaches have enriched themselves by essentially selling vacancies.
The US Attorney's Office in Boston has filed a lawsuit against 50 people, including eight coaches and 33 parents, including Hollywood celebrities and prominent businessmen.
Harvard has so far not been linked to the scandal of court documents. A university official said Thursday in an email addressed to students and faculty members that she did not believe that the circumstances surrounding Mr. Brand, reported for the first time by the Boston Globe, were related to this case.
In 2016, Mr. Brand sold his home in Needham, a suburb of Boston, to Jie Zhao, whom The Globe described as a wealthy Maryland businessman. At the time, Mr. Zhao's eldest son was a Harvard student and part of the fencing team, and his youngest son was still in high school. Mr. Zhao paid $ 989,500, about $ 400,000 more than the then established value of $ 549,300.
"The place is a bad vintage of the 1960s," wrote the appraiser when he inspected the house after the sale. "It does not make sense."
Shortly after, Mr. Zhao's youngest son was admitted to Harvard, where he is currently a sophomore and was at least until recently part of the fencing, according to a recently removed profile from the team's website. Harvard sports. He is no longer listed as a member of the team.
Harvard spokeswoman Rachael Dane said the university was not aware of the circumstances surrounding the sale until The Globe asked for it and that it was proceeding. now to an independent review.
"We are committed to ensuring the integrity of our recruitment practices," she said.
Ms. Dane did not want to confirm whether Mr. Brand actually recruited Mr. Zhao's youngest son, although the brothers were referred to as student-athletes in the email sent Thursday to students and faculty members.
Claudine Gay, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, wrote in her email that Harvard's athlete recruitment practices were different from those of some other schools. Applications from the student recruits are reviewed by the full admissions committee, consisting of about 40 members, and the admissions decisions are made by a vote of the entire committee. In addition, she added that all recruited athletes must be interviewed by an admissions officer or alumni interviewer.
At this point in the investigation of Mr. Brand, she said, the university was still unaware of many things.
"Regardless of what we may learn about these allegations, the time has not come to let us go," she wrote. "When there are opportunities to clarify practices and strengthen procedures, we must act accordingly, with a sense of urgency."
The admission practices of the university have been under surveillance for months. A lawsuit against Harvard for discrimination against US-Asian claimants was tried in October. In defending himself, Harvard was forced to reveal many admission secrets, including the benefits awarded to students whose parents went to Harvard, to the parents of the donors and to the athletes recruited. Documents have shown that in recent years, the admission rate of recruited athletes was 86%. A judge has not yet ruled in the lawsuit.
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