An SPS adjunct professor repeatedly promoted his consulting business to students, urging them to purchase his career mentorship services — potentially violating NYU’s conflict of interest policies for employees, two of his former students told WSN.
Mario Oliveri, who taught the SPS course Organizations in Sports last semester, encouraged students to email him about opportunities to “work more 1v1” after the term ended in a Dec. 9 Brightspace announcement. An SPS sophomore, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said they contacted Oliveri and learned the “opportunities” stemmed from his consulting business unaffiliated with NYU. Detailed on a promotional flyer Oliveri circulated, his services — which spanned $300 to $950 per month — included mentorship in areas like job applications, resume building and interview preparation.
“When he initially mentioned one-on-one opportunities, people were under the impression it was related to volunteering or career-related opportunities,” the SPS student told WSN. “To hop on a call and be offered a price — not just any price, but a very expensive one — I was appalled.”
NYU’s conflict of interest policies state that employees must disclose and regulate instances in which their interests diverge from their obligations to NYU as soon as possible, or risk facing disciplinary action as severe as termination from the university. Specifically, employees cannot “use NYU students or staff to conduct personal business” or host “activities that are in competition” with the university. The SPS student said Oliveri’s one-on-one mentorship sessions seemingly resembled the Wasserman Center for Career Development’s services, which are free to NYU students.
“The university takes any and all ethical allegations seriously,” NYU spokesperson Joseph Tirella wrote in a statement to WSN. “That said, the university does not comment publicly on personnel matters.”
After the SPS student stated that they were no longer interested in seeking his mentorship through the business, Oliveri continued sending them several follow-up emails and LinkedIn messages about the matter. The professor repeatedly told the student that spaces in his consulting business were limited as spots filled up fast, and that he does not offer this opportunity to all of his students.
Almost two months after Oliveri began promoting his business, the student emailed another SPS faculty member to discuss Oliveri’s behavior. The faculty member said the situation was “currently under active review” and that they could not continue discussions about it. Oliveri’s staff profile remains active on the SPS website and the SPS student said he exclusively teaches graduate-level courses this semester.
An NYU senior who was also in Oliveri’s fall 2025 class, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, told WSN that Oliveri asked them about their plans after graduation and promoted his business, to which the student immediately responded that they were not interested. They said Oliveri continued to advertise his services to them and their classmates in group chats, stating that if they paid him, he could “help us get our foot in the door.”
“I thought it was really weird, because he was driven by this idea that we were paying him for his time,” the student told WSN. “I know other people went through with it — I don’t know how it worked out for them — but it just seemed really weird that we had to pay our professor to help us.”
Oliveri and the SPS did not respond to WSN’s multiple requests for comment.
Contact Selin Kemiktarak at [email protected].