A visiting NYU business professor is on thin ice after tweeting that fat students lack the willpower to complete a doctoral dissertation.
Geoffrey F. Miller, a visiting associate professor of evolutionary psychology on leave from the University of New Mexico, made the statement late Sunday.
“Dear obese PhD applicants: If you didn’t have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won’t have the willpower to do a dissertation,” he wrote — driving home the discriminatory point by adding “#truth.”
Miller is seeking a Ph.D. student for his fall lab group at UNM, according to his school’s staff page. Only after his mean missive raised hackles — including with NYU colleague Jay Rosen — did Miller delete the tweet and apologize.
“My sincere apologies to all for that idiotic, impulsive and badly judged tweet. It does not reflect my true views, values or standards,” he wrote.
Despite the mea culpa, he told UNM that the message stemmed from a research project that includes measuring the responses to provocative tweets.
“We are looking into the validity of this assertion,” the school said. “We are deeply concerned about the impact of the statement, which in no way reflects the policies or admission standards of UNM. We are investigating and will take appropriate action.”
An NYU spokesman called the tweet “regrettable,” but said the school deemed the matter closed since Miller deleted it and apologized.
Students at NYU, where Miller delivered a seminar titled “Sex, Mutations, and Marketing” and co-taught a course called “Evolution, Human Nature, and Business,” starting in January, were less forgiving.
“I think professors have a responsibility to the university, and I don’t think that comment should be tolerated,” said Ramzi De Coster, a recent graduate in applied science.
“That’s a shocking statement. A person’s body says nothing about their academic skills or integrity,” said Megan Davis, a grad student at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. “I don’t think he should be invited back as a guest lecturer.”
Miller, who is slated to be at NYU through August, did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Laurel Babcock
yoav.gonen@nypost.com