West Virginia University revised the academic record of a politically connected high-ranking official at a big drug company to show that she had earned an M.B.A. even though she was still 22 credits short of the degree, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today in a long, carefully researched article.

The executive, Heather Bresch, is chief operating officer of Mylan, a leading producer of generic drugs. She is the daughter of the state’s governor, Joe Manchin III. The chairman of her company, Milan Puskar, is one of the university’s most generous benefactors. And Mike Garrison, the university’s president, was her classmate through high school and college.

When the Post-Gazette called the university in October to verify her academic credentials, for a routine article about her promotion at Mylan, university officials initially said she did not earn the degree for lack of credits. But days later, the university reversed itself, saying she had indeed received her M.B.A.

The newspaper followed up with extensive reporting that raises many questions about what happened. Those questions are likely to be pursued anew by members of the university’s faculty, some of whom bitterly opposed the appointment of Mr. Garrison as president last spring. Some of the faculty critics even said the presidential search had been rigged in his favor. And in an exceptionally rare step, the Faculty Senate voted to oppose Mr. Garrison’s selection even before it was official. —Andrew Mytelka