BU dean, then-head of Scientific American, emails and appears to meet with sex offender Epstein, DOJ files show

A well-known journalist who’s now a Boston University dean corresponded repeatedly with Jeffrey Epstein between 2014 and 2015, when she was the top editor for Scientific American, emails from the Department of Justice’s investigation into the convicted sex offender show.

In September 2014, Mariette DiChristina invited Epstein to attend an editorial meeting at the prestigious science publication — six years after he was convicted of soliciting sex with a minor and became a registered sex offender. Business Insider first reported on the invitation in 2023.

On Wednesday, The Daily Free Press, Boston University’s student newspaper, reported that the DOJ’s latest trove of “Epstein files” revealed DiChristina also appeared to schedule “phone dates” and a one-on-one meeting with the notorious financier in 2014.

DiChristina joined Boston University in 2019 and is dean of BU’s College of Communications. She also serves on WBUR’s board of directors. The board, which includes 30 members, oversees WBUR’s operations and finances. Boston University holds WBUR's broadcast license. Neither the board nor BU hold editorial influence over news coverage. WBUR CEO Margaret Low declined to comment.

Colin Riley, a Boston University spokesperson, told WBUR in a statement Thursday that part of DiChristina’s role at Scientific American was “talk to people who reached out to the publication and expressed interest in science.”

DiChristina did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday. DiChristina, like many others mentioned in the files, hasn’t been implicated in any criminal wrongdoing.

The Daily Free Press detailed DiChristina’s exchanges with Epstein, reporting that she often used “laudatory rhetoric” to describe him. In 2014, the paper found in the emails, she called him a “financier who has supported the work of many Nobel laureates.”

In 2014, after scheduling a phone date for July 22, DiChristina appeared to meet up with Epstein in Manhattan on July 29, according to The Daily Free Press’ reporting on the DOJ files. Later that day, the outlet reported, DiChristina sent an email to an address that was redacted, saying:

“I’ve met lots of Nobel laureates and policy leaders and such but it’s not often someone gives me as many productive things to think about in such a short span of time. I truly enjoyed the conversation and am inspired to help him with his worthy goals. Honored to do so as well.”

Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution with a minor child in 2008. Accused of sex trafficking young women and girls as young as 14, he died in federal custody in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide.

Many more women have come forward to report alleged abuse by Epstein, and the Trump administration has been under fire to release millions of pages of records on the Epstein investigation.

DiChristina is the latest Massachusetts academic caught up in the Epstein fallout.

Larry Summers, a professor and former president of Harvard University, announced he would step back from public commitments after emails revealed Summers, who is married, sought dating advice from Epstein. The pair appeared to maintain a friendship long after Epstein’s 2008 conviction.

Another high-profile Harvard professor, physicist Lisa Randall, also traded emails with Epstein for years. MIT’s famed linguist Noam Chomsky also was revealed to have formed a connection to the disgraced sex offender, according to documents.

While the federal government has said it will not make public additional “Epstein files,” victims and lawyers say significant material has been redacted or withheld.

Victims say documents they know were included in the investigation were not made public, as was mandated by a law passed by Congress. They also say the millions of files that were released contained obvious redaction errors that protected perpetrators of sexual abuse while offering up sensitive informational about victims.

Editor's Note: Under standard practices for reporting on WBUR and BU, no staff outside the newsroom reviewed this story before publication.