The letter also accuses Director Patti Hart of misrepresenting her degree from Illinois State University as one in marketing and economics though she actually got a degree in business administration. Loeb, the CEO of Third Point, which owns 5.8% of Yahoo, wrote that he discovered that Thompson didn't hold a degree in computer science by doing a "rudimentary Google search." He then verified with Thompson's alma mater, Stonehill College, that Thompson's degree is actually in accounting, according to the letter. Loeb continues:
Furthermore, Stonehill College informed us that it did not begin awarding computer science degrees until 1983 -- four years after Mr. Thompson graduated. We inquired whether Mr. Thompson had taken a large number of computer science courses, perhaps allowing him to justify to himself that he had "earned" such a degree. Instead, we learned that during Mr. Thompson's tenure at Stonehill only one such course was even offered - Intro to Computer Science. Presumably, Mr. Thompson took that course.
Reps from Yahoo could not be reached for comment, but a Stonehill rep confirmed that Thompson got a degree in business administration, not computer science and that the college didn't offer a computer science degree until 1983.
Third Point's latest missive comes amid a proxy fight between the company and Yahoo. The row began in late March after Yahoo named three directors to its board after failing to reach a compromise with Third Point, which had recommended its own list of nominees.
Thompson, a former PayPal exec, became Yahoo's CEO on Jan. 4.