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Commencement watch: dishonorable honorary degrees
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The honorary degree is the currency of the college and university president, a salutary intellectual gift bestowed to a great mind (ideally) in the service of ideals the university holds dear. Joseph Epstein writes, though, about the glut of honorary degrees in contemporary culture and how they don’t mean much anymore.
The practice goes back to the 15th century; the first honorary degree was awarded by Oxford to the Bishop of Salisbury. For many centuries thereafter honorary degrees tended to be awarded to scholars and scientists and occasionally to artists. This remains the policy of the University of Chicago; no businessmen or politicians are given honorary degrees.
As a doctor myself, I didn’t earn much in the way of material gains, but I did earn the right to wear three great big stripes on my robe, a great big hood around my neck, and two letters before (or three after) my name. Honorary doctors, I once read, are not encouraged to call themselves “Dr.” and are not generally supposed to wear the three stripes on their sleeves. Hoods, however, are acceptable. Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Johnson, and Maya Angelou have no formal doctorates - only honorary ones, yet the latter two are well known as doctors. Epstein continues.
My late friend Sol Linowitz once told me that he had 64 such degrees. Linowitz combined modest fame for good works (he was ambassador to the Organization of American States) with heavy bread (he had been the chairman of the board at Xerox), which made him a near perfect candidate for an honorary degree: someone not disgraceful who just might donate a large sum to the school that had honored him. Universities often award honorary degrees with such obvious motives in mind.
I encourage you to read the essay, particularly the anecdote in the closing paragraphs about what one university did in regard to such degrees.
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Soul searching
Loved the ending. Also, this sentence: “Yet one wonders if the graduates of Long Island’s Southampton College, allowed to reflect upon the matter in tranquility, were entirely pleased when their school gave an honorary degree to Kermit the Frog.”
I liked the joke.
My daughter’s alma mater gave an honorary degree to a famous alum who had declared previously that the only reason he’d grace that town with his presence ever again was to order a particular sandwich for a particular food establishment.
I guess he changed his mind because he delivered the commencement address to her graduating class and received his honorary degree.
He also said on the podium, “Can’t you do any better than this?” Indeed the could and they have. Both before and after him.
That’s my personal ambition: to receive an honorary doctorate.
Derek,
It’s easier to get a real one. Glad you have high goals instead of low ones like people who earn their doctorates
Well, everyone with a doctorate–earned or otherwise–at my alma mater went by “Dr. so-and-so.” I got to see the unusual situation of a colleague of mine editing my college president (who actually had an unearned doctorate). They were the same age; she had an earned doctorate, he an honorary one. She was doing a professional service for him. But as they related, he called her by her first name and she called him Dr. –. It didn’t seem to bother her, but it would have bothered me.
In my mind, granting an unearned degree only makes sense if the person has done the equivalent work in their field, plus some; you acknowledge the work with a degree. I know of one or two such degrees, but most of the degrees I know of are simply free publicity for the institution.
I wish I remembered the details enough to adequately tell this. It was touching; my eyes watered when it happened. I’ve been to a lot of graduation ceremonies, but never heard of this anywhere else. If any of you are interested in human interest stories, you may want to look into this. It happened on May 12, 1999.
My daughter in law graduated With an AB degree from the College of Charleston in 1999. During the ceremony they announced that the faculty and directors agreed to award an honorary bachelor’s degree to a non-student. As well as I remember, this lady was assisting a severely disabled person work through her four year degree by bringing her, and remaining in class with her. She took notes, helped and reviewed all of her papers, etc. So, they agreed that she was fully qualified for the degree, though she never matriculated.
Hmmm … CherylD … I’ve known presidents with honorary doctorates too. It seems a little odd, and I believe the current president (who has an earned doctorate) is a much better fit.
My university (breaking a semi-tradition of giving honorary doctorates to faithful pastors) actually gave one to the founder of Shalom Ministries in New York Cities. Of all the recipients, Dr. Hartman seemed quite worthy, having a Juris Doctorate, knowing several languages, establishing a ministries, and a faithful minister.
So then … honorary doctorates are given freely to people who have lots of money, but earned doctorates are awarded for an exorbitant sum to people who will probably earn very little.
That kinda takes the honor out of honorary.
I don’t know, Xion - some of those degrees were bought and paid for with more money than was paid by those who actually earned their degrees, if I read the article correctly.
It’s flattery and bribery. All I have to do to get your big bicks or high profile name for my university is to offer you an essentially worthless piece of paper which bestows upon you a flattering title and maybe name a building after you and let you talk at commencement? That sounds like a bargain for me. That’s why everyone’s doing it.
Perhaps you are right Klasko. Buying a building may be cheaper than tuition.
One of the things I am proud of about my alma mater (and Ivy League school) is that we do not cheapen the value of our degrees by giving out honorary degrees to anyone. The downside is we have a remarkably hardtime getting notable people to come give convention speeches. But that’s fine with me. I know that NO one has a degree from my school that did not earn it.
I have known people who have been given one or more Honorary Doctorate Degree - These are very humble people, in no way were they buying these degree’s - It might be true that some people have ‘bought’ so to speak their Honorary Doctorate Degree, but I doubt its all the prevalent.
I find nothing strange about this practice. I’ve known people with many, many degree’s making one wonder how they received them, through years of study.
Miss Manners on styling oneself a “doctor:”
“… your poor cousin doesn’t know that in the higher levels of the academic world, it is taken for granted that one has a PhD and considered silly for anyone not in the medical field to use the title of doctor.”