A criminology professor at Florida State University suddenly left his $190,000-a-year position after being accused of fudging data to make racism seem more common.
Eric Stewart has had six of his studies – one of which dates as far back as 2006 – retracted amid allegations that he fabricated data by altering sample sizes.
Stewart has denied such criticisms but after the sixth incident in 2020 an FSU committee reconvened to address his record and findings.
Since last month, the professor has been absent, perhaps marking the end of his 16-year career at the school and a years-long investigation into his academic malpractice, the Florida Standard reported.
In 2011 Stewart co-authored a study that claimed to demonstrate that as black and Hispanic populations grew, the public increasingly demanded longer sentences for black and Hispanic criminals.