Credentials mess at Monterey Institute
The Monterey Institute of International Studies said over the weekend that it has concluded that a lecturer there made false claims about his academic credentials.
The institute said that it has concluded that, contrary to claims in a resume and bio, lecturer Bill Hillar lied about both his military and academic background.
It said Hillar claimed to be "a retired colonel of the U.S. Army Special Forces" and to have earned a Ph.D. at the University of Oregon, neither of which it was able to verify.
Hillar taught workshops at the institute over the past five years in human trafficking and counterterrorism. He has also been hired by various other educational, nonprofit and law enforcement agencies.
"We deeply regret this incident and offer our sincere apologies to the students, alumni, faculty, and staff who have been affected by it," Monterey Institute President Sunder Ramaswamy said in a prepared release.
As a result, the institute said it will begin requiring a full background check on any person who provides classroom instruction for academic credit there.
Students who took Hillar's workshops are being given two options, to keep the academic credit on their records or have it removed with the option of attending another workshop at no additional cost.
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