It’s different there. In the United States, the revelation that the headmaster of an expensive private school was a liar who bought a fraudulent Ph.D. from a diploma mill would cause his dismissal. In Mississippi… well, hell… I mean, hell… you know… he’s a good old boy… We all just love him to death… And he’s so good to the kids…

Pat Taylor acknowledges it - and so does his boss. [Why hide it? Who gives a shit whether a degree is real or not? If it's good enough for Cal State Long Beach, it's good enough for Jackson Academy!]

Taylor received a doctorate in secondary education from LaSalle University in Mandeville, La., in 1996 – the same year FBI agents raided the institution.

Its founder, James Kirk, pleaded guilty to fraud and tax evasion, admitting he used LaSalle and his church to swindle LaSalle students out of $36.5 million, taking $1.5 million of that cash to buy himself a white-columned mansion. He also admitted setting up his World Christian Church as a bogus front to avoid paying income taxes.

Author John Bear, a nationally renowned expert on diploma mills, said about a dozen states have passed laws that make it a crime to claim a degree from LaSalle or similar bogus institutions in resumes. “It’s nothing you would want to use in any public way,” he said.

Mississippi, however, has no such law, Bear said.

The resume of Taylor – who was chosen as headmaster in 2007 after a nationwide search – can be viewed on the Jackson Academy Web site or at clarion ledger.com.

Peter Jernberg, president and CEO of Jackson Academy, defended the educator, saying he was well aware throughout the search process that Taylor had earned his doctoral degree from a diploma mill. “That wasn’t even an issue,” he said.

A doctoral degree was not required for the position, but a master’s in education and significant administrative experience were, he said. [Classic defense of diploma mill scum: Who cares? We weren't interested in hiring at that degree level. Plus we didn't care whether we hired frauds.] “The committee spent the majority of its time exploring the impeccable record of service and accomplishments Pat Taylor had at St. Paul’s Episcopal School (in Mobile), where he served for 34 years. Every reference the committee checked gave their highest recommendation of Pat Taylor.”

Taylor has never misrepresented anything about his background, Jernberg said. [In Mississippi, you boast of your diploma mill degree.] “The headmaster, board and parents of St. Paul’s Episcopal School were more aware than us of the circumstances of Pat’s doctorate, and they had no issues with it for the 11 years he continued to serve there after earning it,” Jernberg said. [So sue us! We jest don't care.]

JA parents reached Tuesday weren’t bothered by the revelation or wouldn’t comment. Byron Edgecombe, vice president of the JA Association, said the fact that Taylor earned his degree from a diploma mill “doesn’t concern me at all. He’s done a very good job when he’s been here.”

Each year, JA parents pay up to $9,900 a year in tuition.

Taylor said he didn’t realize LaSalle was a diploma mill until after he graduated. [Another classic move. Not my fault if I'm so fucking stupid I can't tell a diploma mill from a university. People in Mississippi like me this way!]

Since his release from prison, Kirk has started several other academic institutions, some of them in Mississippi, Bear said.

Taylor said he did, however, know LaSalle wasn’t accredited.

Asked why he would get a degree from an institution that wasn’t accredited, he replied he was more interested in the help the institution offered.

“I was looking for some kind of structured program to do some research under. I didn’t need another degree,” said Taylor, who received a master’s degree in education in 1977 from the University of South Alabama.

Asked why he listed the doctoral degree on his resume if the degree didn’t matter, Taylor replied, “The truth of the matter is my resume was made up many years ago. I haven’t subtracted from it.”

He said because he was already working full time as the principal at St. Paul’s, he looked at a number of institutions where he could do his doctoral work by correspondence.

“I didn’t have time to do a residential program,” he said. “And (LaSalle) was reasonably affordable.”

He said he chose LaSalle because someone on the staff at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital had recommended the institution. (There is a legitimate LaSalle University in Philadelphia, Pa.)

Taylor said he could not recall the name of the professor under whom he did his doctoral dissertation, which included research on the best college options for students with learning disabilities. [Hm. Which professor at LaSalle was it now? Let's check the university's records! Get the registrar on the phone.]

He said he spent two to three years working on his research, which included a survey of college admission offices. “It was significant survey work,” he said.

His thesis was published, he said, but not copyrighted or recorded in the Library of Congress. [It's somewhere around here.]

Because of the significant work he did, he said he feels he earned the degree.

He said he’s never tried to mislead anybody regarding the degree, which he said he feels he earned because of the work he put into it. “Part of the charge to do this was I was fulfilling a request from my previous school to do this research,” he said.

His former boss, Bob Rutledge, now serving as interim headmaster at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, said he was the one who encouraged Taylor to apply.

“We needed some research on learning disabilities,” he said. “I’m the one who asked him to do it.”

Rutledge said St. Paul’s paid for Taylor’s expenses at LaSalle, including paying a typist to type his dissertation. [Got his dupe school to pay for the thing too.]

Taylor worked nights and weekends for two years on that paper, he said.

The research proved helpful, leading to changes in the learning disabilities program at St. Paul’s, Rutledge said. “The degree was just a byproduct, not a goal.”

He praised Taylor as the most- dedicated educator he knows, saying he knows no one who has more insight into children.

“As an educator, he’s one of the best I’ve ever known,” Rutledge said. “He was so child-oriented. We put the child first and the institution second – and it paid off. We built a very successful school.”

As for Taylor continuing to list his doctoral degree on his resume, “I feel he earned it. I would not question that.”

clarion ledger