Vehec’s assistant organized a sorority poker tournament to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.was accused through an ethics hotline of telling his psychology students they could receive an automatic 100 percent grade on the final five-page paper if they donated $100 to the fundraiser. He allegedly also offered a later chance for students to skip the final paper if they donated $25 in November.
Vehec denied the allegations but the university found against him and concluded that “Dr. Vehec was counseled that his behavior was inappropriate . . . He will not be given adjunct teaching duties in the future.”
Vehec has been previously recognized for novel and engaging teaching techniques. He has also been very active in helping wounded veterans as this video explores.
The controversy reminded me of my time at the University of Chicago when one of my professors would always insist that it was more efficient to sell grades in a market system than rely on performance-based grades. Of course, the charity element was not exactly part of the wealth maximizing approach to the grade market.