not a surprise anymore Bill Cosby is stripped of another honorary degree | Atlanta Buzz with Jennifer Brett 37 Universities on the Status of Cosby?s Degrees -- Vulture
Will anyone in higher education stand with Bill Cosby? Innocent Until Proven Guilty, but is Anyone in Higher Ed Standing With Bill Cosby? - Higher Education
Cosby goes to trial. He can stop worrying about losing his honorary degrees and start worrying about losing his freedom. Bill Cosby to stand trial for assault charges, judge rules - CNN.com
Until his lawyers establish he cannot competently assist with his own defense. He'll then lack legal capacity for trial.
I'm putting my money on any conviction getting tossed on appeal because of the verbal agreement between his lawyers and the prosecution regarding that deposition testimony. Yeah, he should have had it in writing. But in speaking with a few lawyers it sounds like verbal agreements like that with a DA happen all the time. I'm anti-the bad guy walks in most cases. But I take civil rights pretty seriously. And if it's totally cool for a DA to tell you that you won't get prosecuted when you make an incriminating statement and then turn around and prosecute you for the incriminating statement, that's a troubling state of affairs.
My own opinion is that honorary degrees (doctorates), especially if the recipient uses the title "Dr." based on the honorary doctorate alone (that is, the recipient has no earned doctorate, only an honorary one) are deceptive and unethical.
I'm with you emotionally, but not technically. The honorary degree is no different than an earned degree, except how it is perceived by others. The honorary doctorate is an award of the title "doctor." The idea is that the recipient deserves the honor (and the title). I'm not sure that should preclude someone from using it, except where it might be confused--materially--for an earned doctorate. (Like in a university classroom.) Holders of honorary doctorates have the title "doctor." I'm not sure how using it is 'unethical.' What ethos is being violated, specifically? The real problem, in my opinion, is that schools do this at all. Stop that and this all goes away.
Several educational institutions, including Oberlin College, Fordham University, Brown University, Boston University, Tufts University and Coucher College, have revoked honorary degrees given to Cosby.
True, it is the fault of the schools awarding the degrees. What is problematic, in my opinion, is that so often the degree is awarded not so much for equivalent academic achievement, but because of name recognition or monetary reasons. If the honorary doctorate is placed alongside other awards, prizes, methods of recognition, and listed under "Awards" on a CV/resume, it would be much less problematic. But some list it under "Education" and use the title "Dr" professionally. The average person doesn't know the difference. This is what I believe to be unethical. And for this reason I would never reference anyone as "Dr" in any setting if the title is based on only an honorary doctorate. That's my opinion and policy. It is not intended to be, nor is it, an issue of academic snobbery or wanting to publically shame anyone. For me, it is purely a matter of ethics.
That would be nice I have never seen this, but I agree that it isn't technically "education." Again, they've been awarded that title. I can't get mad at someone using it. I'm madder at schools for doing it. Well, that's a much narrower case, leaving people the idea one earned the degree when it was really awarded honorarily. Right. Yours. But lots of people refuse to use another person's title for all kinds of reasons, including just plain stubborness. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but that's not the same as someone else being unethical. Again, what ethics are being violated? I get that you don't like it, but you're not clear on how using a title you've been granted is somehow unethical. Your much more narrow example of misleading people about how the degree was awarded is fine, but that's not your over-arching thesis.
Rich, although my opinion reaches to all disciplines, my concerns are primarily among clergy. This is a problematic issue among clergy in some faith traditions. Unaccredited doctorates, which of course is another issue altogether, abound among clergy in some faith traditions. I speak here not of the very few legitimate unaccredited schools (e.g., Pensacola Christian College, pre-TRACS Bob Jones University, etc.), but the ACI milled variety. And many of these schools award honorary doctorates like passing out candy. Even when the school awarding the honorary doctorate holds legitimate accreditation, many of the recipients will use the title "Dr." in all professional activity, but never stating that the title is honorary and not earned. Again, I can only speak for myself, but if I was awarded an honorary doctorate, and held no earned doctorate, yet began using the title "Dr. John Doe" without making it known that the title was based on an honorary doctorate, I would be projecting myself as holding an earned doctorate, because this is what most people would assume. This is where the issue, for me, of ethics comes into play.
Okay, but this is two different things: unaccredited mills and honorary doctorates. You start with one and end with the other. Again, I get that you think the use of the title 'doctor' stemming from the award of an honorary doctorate is unethical. But you still do not (a) say what ethical standard is being violated and (b) how the person is violating it. Honesty violated by deception, perhaps? (That's what it seems like to me.) But, at the risk of making a strawman argument, I would say 'no' because the person isn't being deceptive. The school awarded the degree and title and makes no distinction about them. So, again, I get that you don't like it and think it's wrong, but I'm trying to figure out why it is wrong. The list of people who have routinely been referred to as "doctor" despite having only one or more honorary doctorates includes Maya Angelou, Edward Land, and Billy Graham. I don't like it, either, but I put the blame on the school. I wouldn't call it 'unethical,' though. I just think it's a bad practice and cheapens the degrees awarded for scholarship. Here's a parallel: when Queen Elizabeth bestows a knighthood on a non-subject (like Ronald Reagan or Bob Geldof), it is considered honorary and comes with at least one clear distinction. The recipient of an honorary knighthood is entitled to use the postnominal (KBE, Kt, etc.), but is not styled with the prenominal "Sir Bob" (Sir Ronald, etc.). The distinction is made clear. The academic equivalent--one which would satisfy you, I suspect--would be the person could use the postnominal letters (e.g., "DLitt" or "DHL") but not be called "doctor." This actually fits the social convention, but a social convention isn't a rule and is often violated. The list of honorary knighthoods that have been annulled (revoked) is pretty cool. Benito Mussolini and Kaiser Wilhelm, for two, make Bill Cosby look like a punk.
I guess I can see both sides of this. I kind of liken honorary degrees in the academic world to honorary rank in the martial arts world. To me, honorary means just that, honorary. The bestowed title was not earned the traditional way. In my own personal life, I reject the offer of higher rank just because of the fact that I have been a martial artist for forty years now. It just wouldn't feel right. This is simply not in accordance to what my late Master taught me. So the question is, Is it wrong? Maybe, maybe not. I may not like such things, but life isn't like Burger King "You can't always have it your way". In a new era of many McDojos arising around me, I don't have to like the new ways. I will simply remain more resolute in my own way. Like Richard said, maybe the problem arises from schools bestowing honorary docs, and not necessarily on the individual.
the trial is about to begin https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/arts/television/what-to-expect-as-bill-cosbys-sex-assault-trial-begins.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
University of Pennsylvania strips Cosby's honorary degree and since they were all warmed up, they stripped Steve Wynn's too https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/01/us/penn-wynn-cosby-metoo.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Feducation&action=click&contentCollection=education®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Late to the party, USC takes back their degree https://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article213660254.html
