Name that Honorary Doctor!

This discussion is starting to sound like that old 'Three Stooges' routine where the Stooges pose as doctors and when they meet the real doctors they go around the circle head bobbing, shaking hands and saying 'Doctor', 'Doctor', 'Doctor'....

 

LOL!!!!

 

EVERY University gives out honorary doctorates.

Not just Baptists....

I can remember when I attended Univ of Arizona - Barry Goldwater got an honorary doctorate there.

And why does a school get better when it is "accredited" ? And accreditation means nothing
in the broad scheme of things.

 

Very true, very true.

 

True. Every University gives out honorary doctorates. But, how many REAL doctorates do those universities give out. The University where I teach at now, gives out an honorary doctorate every now and then. The IFB Bible college I taught at gave out two Fake (Honorary) doctorates each year. The same IFB Bible college gives out NO REAL doctorates. The IFB Bible college I taught at has given out more Fake (Honorary) doctorates since 1970 than my university has given out since the 1920's!

 

Now really! I do not disagree that abuse and overuse of the honorary doctorate exists but you can go too far in denouncing the practice. It has its proper place. Read my posts and you will find that I have criticized the same without throwing out the baby with the dirty bath water.

In the above case, I see no sinister motivation that can be rationally ascribed to this instance. I seriously doubt if it was deliberate or intentional. It is an assumption you have made while riding your hobbyhorse. There are a number of reasonable alternatives. For the aforementioned persons, name recognition alone is enough. IMHO, it is superfluous to refer to Albert Einstein as Dr. Einstein although he had an earned doctorate from the University of Zurich. The name Einstein is synonymous with brilliance, intellect, and genius. A doctorate adds nothing to it. So, why bother? Do you refer to Bill Clinton as Dr. Bill Clinton?

 

For the record, that was Major General Dr. Barry Goldwater., Retd. USAF. The late Senator remained in the Air Force Reserve, after his active duty, and had achieved the rank of two-star Major General by the time he ran for President in 1964, including being flight qualified to fly some of the fighter jets, then in service, and did, in fact, fly them. He, not President Eisenhower, is the last General to receive his party's nomination for President of the US. He retired in 1967, from the military.
Ed

[ February 10, 2006, 05:48 PM: Message edited by: EdSutton ]

 

Paul 33, and others-
FTR, Dr. Tom Malone has both a Th.D. and a Ph.D. (plus two, and perhaps three other earned degrees); Dr. Joyce Parker has five earned degrees including the D.S.M.; and Dr. Monroe Parker had a Ph.D. These, at least the last time I checked, were not given as Honorary degrees. Nor do I find any record that the late G. Campbell Morgan was ever awarded one. No matter how much the SOTL, or any other paper, might like to award any of these Doctorates, I don't think that can be done. If you wish to excoriate someone who self-awards one, absent Academics, feel free to do so. But let's not paint with so broad a brush that any and all doctorates are suspect, absence evidence.
Ed

 

It concerns me that a mentality exists that an honorary doctorate is not valid, fake, etc, if it's not course-study earned. I fear that such an assumtion speaks more to our covetousness than it does our objectivity.

 

Granted, Paul33, there are some schools that do this, and that needs to be dealt with. But that fact does not mean that every honorary doctorate is invalid, nor does it mean that every school that hands them out is as you describe. Hopefully, your kids know that as well.