ReporterIS: Gabriela Mihalache allegedly graduated from the faculty where she taught while serving as rector

Gabriela Mihalache, a lecturer at “Apollonia” University in Iași and the institution’s former rector, allegedly graduated in 2023 from the Faculty of Medicine where she taught, while she was leading the university, according to the local publication ReporterIS.ro. She served as rector from December 2019 until September 2025.

The information appears in the CV published on the university’s website. According to the document, during the same period in which she was rector, Mihalache attended courses in the Balneophysiokinesitherapy and Rehabilitation program. In the summary of her habilitation thesis, defended in 2025 at “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați, she states that she taught in the program.

ReporterIS reports, citing sources, that Gabriela Mihalache was also chair of the bachelor’s examination committee in 2023, the year she graduated. The publication claims that the situation could even raise the issue of her signing her own bachelor’s diploma.

Contacted by Edupedu.ro, Gabriela Mihalache referred the request to the university’s leadership. The current rector, Laura Ecaterina Romilă, promised a response, but it had not been sent by the time the article was published. Edupedu.ro also requested a position from the National Commission for the Ethics of University Management, which asked for an official complaint and said it was unaware of the case.

Gabriela Mihalache currently heads the Senate of “Apollonia” University. The Higher Education Law stipulates that violations of conflict-of-interest rules and the failure to disclose such situations in assessment activities constitute breaches of university ethics standards.