Whenever UD worries that the currency of the title “Professor” has been devalued, she reads articles like this one in USA Today, about the styling of the latest Mercedes-Benz model, and heaves a sigh of relief.
“The new CLS points the way forward for the future perceptible design idiom of Mercedes-Benz”, explains Professor Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes-Benz. “At the same time it takes its inspiration from the great tradition of stylish, refined sportiness which has always been a feature of Mercedes coupés.”
If Mercedes-Benz thinks it’s a plus to put “Professor” in front of the names of its designers (this guy’s predecessor was also Professor), I guess we’re still prestigious.
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:33AM
Education-derived titles are taken pretty seriously in Germany; business cards for executives usually specify their degree.
Also…not sure if it’s *still* true, but according to my high-school German teacher, one’s educational credentials could also be used by one’s spouse…ie, her formal title was “Frau Professor Doktor Lindemann,” reflecting her husband’s degrees rather than her own.
August 23rd, 2010 at 7:51AM
When you were called professor at 3M, it was not a compliment.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:49PM
david: my mother’s grad-school German prof told her something similar. And made a joke that when she earned her doctorate, she’d be something like Doktor Frau Doktor Professor Lastname…