Where did Denis Waitley get his PhD?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by georgehkchua, Nov 25, 2005.

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  1. georgehkchua

    georgehkchua New Member

    Denis Waitley is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and productivity consultants in the world today.

    His official websites:
    http://www.waitley.com/
    http://www.deniswaitley.com/

    lists his degrees as "B.S., U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis" and "PhD. in Human Behavioral Psychology" with no mention of the name of the awarding institution.

    Another website lists his academic qualifications as:
    " -Graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and former Naval Aviator
    - Masters in Semantics and Doctoral Degree in Human Behavior"
    http://premierespeakers.com/809/index.cfm

    Yet another says "he received his Ph.D. in human behavior from La Jolla University in 1970."
    http://www.goodmanspeakersbureau.com/biography/bio-waitleyd.htm

    I ran a google search on La Jolla University and the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla CA came up. I can't find any other references to La Jolla University on the Internet.

    Does anyone know anything about this La Jolla University?

    Denis Waitley has a huge following in Malaysia and his books are considered definitive works in the psychology of motivation.
     
  2. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    We learn from Bears' Guide, where it has been listed for more than 20 years, that La Jolla University was once a California-authorized, and later California-approved school. It later gets awfully complicated, with competing versions in Louisiana and then Switzerland, but the original one, presumably at the time Waitley got his degrees, was legal and legitimate, if not accredited.
     
  3. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    La Jolla University was started by Eli Djeddah in San Diego. Djeddah had earned a doctorate from the unaccredited California Pacific University, also in San Diego.

    La Jolla seemed to be a reasonably serious effort, as far as unaccredited schools go. But when California changed its law and eliminated the "Authorized" category, LJU was one of its casualties. (I didn't realize it was ever Approved.) Moving its license to Louisiana was short-lived and it died soon afterwards. (Founder Djeddah died before the school did.)
     
  4. davidhume

    davidhume New Member

    Now let's hope this doesn't degenerate into a 'Waitley bash'. We have just got over the John Gray flogging!
     
  5. georgehkchua

    georgehkchua New Member

    Thank you Dr. Bear for your very informative response.

    And yes davidhume, this should not degenerate into a Waitley bash.

    Sincerely,

    George Chua
    Kuala Lumpur
    Malaysia
     
  6. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Several floogings over the years.

    I don't see anything regarding Waitley, just La Jolla. But don't be offended if some posters ignore your advice.
     
  7. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Rich: Moving its license to Louisiana was short-lived and it died soon afterwards.

    John: What actually happened, as I understand it, is that a renegade employee (or several), including Waldo Bernasconi, opened an unrelated La Jolla University in Louisiana (and managed to write to current students, suggesting that they had been 'transferred' to the Louisiana 'campus'). So there were two unrelated La Jolla Universities operating for a while.

    Bernasconi is apparently going strong in Switzerland now, with several institutions, and an apparent association with Denis Mulhilly (who has been involved with more dreadful schools than one can shake a stick at).
     
  8. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    It's always interesting for me when I see these names of the mill operators. It makes me realize that it's a larger community than I previously realized.

    In this case, I amused myself by imagining that there might be annual conventions of degree mill operators. There would have to be keynote speakers as well as other presentations . . . "Mail Boxes, Etc.: The Do's and Don'ts" How about the topic of advertising . . . "From Pop-Ups to The Economist."

    And where would these conventions be held? St. Kitts? Seborga? (I wonder what the hotel rates are like in Seborga...note to myself, pm Azad) Would they have a convention in Wyoming? Denmark has just GOT to be a popular choice.

    Hey, maybe I should revisit that novel writing thread.
    :rolleyes:
    Jack
     
  9. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    I wonder if one could hold a meeting in the prison cell at the Beaumont, TX federal pen where LaSalle University's James Kirk (aka Tom McPherson) spent four years, and from which he ran his next phony, Edison University.

    Incidentally, the only novel I know where a fake school plays a major role, is Rackety Rax (1932, Joel Sayre), in which the mafia set up a fake school (Canarsie University) whose sole purpose is to field a football team of professionals that they can bet on. Certain similarities with the NY Times article that Dean Hughson posted elsewhere here today.
     
  10. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    An interesting suggestion but I'm guessing that even a few adjoining cells would be inadequate space for such a meeting.
    Jack
    (I'm gonna have to buy the book just so I can make up the guest list :D )
     
  11. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    The real problem with the guest list, Jack, is that many of these guys used (or use) anywhere from two or three to dozens of names. Pellar alone used at least 50. So if you invite 100 people and they all come, you might only get 3 or 4 separate individuals. Plan on Very Large name badges.
     
  12. C Below

    C Below New Member

    La Jolla University: Eli Djeddah Ph.D.

    Just ran across this thread and, since I grew up in La Jolla and attended UCSD, thought I might add the following tidbit from my personal knowledge, albeit belatedly.

    La Jolla University was originally headquartered in a former failed Holiday Inn on La Jolla Village Drive across from the UCSD campus. In its first catalog, co-founder Eli Djeddah, who had worked previously as a local upper-echelon headhunter (or, as I like to call them, "labor brokers"), indicated in his "CV" that his doctorate was received from La Jolla University (as were the listed doctorates of most of the other co-founders, trustees and "academicians").

    There was never anything serious about this "university" beyond its degree mill potential to generate cash for the co-founders. Djeddah himself was little more than a windbag and a scammer.
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Yet another says "he received his Ph.D. in human behavior from La Jolla University in 1970."
    http://www.goodmanspeakersbureau.com/biography/bio-waitleyd.htm

    I ran a google search on La Jolla University and the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla CA came up. I can't find any other references to La Jolla University on the Internet.
    Does anyone know anything about this La Jolla University?[/QUOTE]"LA JOLLA UNIVERSITY, 8950 Villa LaJolla Dr., Suite 1210, LaJolla CA 92037 619.452.7111 Bachelors, Master's, Doctorates Very short residency. The University offers its Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees in Business Administration and Human Behavior and the Bachelor's and Master's in Health Services Administration and in Criminal Justice Administration. All work is done by i9ndividually monitored independent study in which students are given reading, research, and/or project assignments and write papers based on them. All students must come to LaJolla for oral discussions, which serve as an evaluation of their understanding of the work done. Tuition for the programs ranges from $2,400 to $3,600. The university is authorized to grant degrees by the state of California. About 200 students are enrolled. A wide range of qualified adjunct faculty, employed in their fields, are available for assignment to students to meet their specialized needs. The University has a European Campus in Lugano, Switzerland, for students residing in Europe." Thus saith Bear's Guide, 9th edition, 1985, pp. 117-118.
     

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