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Sunday, September 19, 2004
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"As we dance to the Masochism Tango...."
Manifold are the ways of provincial universities when it comes to maintaining their hopelessly provincial status (see, for instance, the University of Southern Mississippi's retention of turbulent President Thames: UD,3/29/04). More recently, the University of Alaska's ad hoc committee on whether an incoming faculty senate president so unethical as to pass off a diploma mill degree as a legitimate one [see UD, 9/13/04] should have such a critical position of authority at the university decided, well, sure. Why not? Who are we to judge any degree? Our man Hannigan, the degree-holder in question, sensibly refused to cooperate with the committee, the question of the validity of his diploma being a closed one. (Here's a sample of Hannigan's writing, from a recent article he signs Michael Hannigan, Ph.D.: "It is very well documented that since first contact with the western world, the native people of North America have been dehumanized, stigmatized, stereotyped, killed, generally marginalized and frequently dealt with in an outrageous manner. When one considers the enormity of the effects of western civilization upon the native populations, it can be a staggering thought.") Even without a word from Hannigan, however, the committee felt comfortable announcing - in the pseudo-speak characteristic of such places, that "In view of the foregoing facts, the Committee concludes it is not in a sufficiently informed position to render an adequately warranted judgment on the question of legitimacy [sic] of a PhD obtained from International University for Graduate Studies." How about Googling the name of the university? Contacting the excellent Oregon Office of Degree Authorization? When one considers the negligence of this committee, it can be a staggering thought. Anyway. One can hear the University of Alaska singing to the committee charged with protecting its intellectual integrity the immortal words of Tom Lehrer: Let our love be a flame, not an ember, Say it's me that you want to dismember. |