• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, May 8, 2012

Yahoo today formally announced forming a special committee to conduct a review of CEO Scott Thompson’s academic credentials along with the facts and circumstances related to his hiring. Last Thursday Yahoo confirmed Thompson’s official bio and company regulatory filings misrepresented his educational background to include a computer science degree.

The inaccuracy was exposed by major Yahoo shareholder and activist investor Daniel Loeb of hedge fund Third Point LLC. Loeb has called for Thompson’s firing over the matter and yesterday demanded Yahoo open up its records tied to his hiring. Thompson himself apologized to Yahoo employees in a memo over the resume furor but failed to provide any explanation for the academic padding that has appeared periodically in his bio for the last decade.

Leading the Yahoo board committee investigating Thompson’s hiring is Fred Amoroso, joined by fellow independent directors John Hayes and Thomas McInerney. The committee has retained as independent counsel Terry Bird of the law firm Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks and Licenberg in Los Angeles.

Patti Hart, the outside board member who led the CEO search that led to Thompson's hiring is resigning, according to an AllThingsD report earlier today. Hart, who is CEO of International Game Technology, will not stand for re-election to the Yahoo board at the next annual meeting, according to souces cited close to the situation.