Her story is highly suspect’: Malden superintendent’s education credentials called into question

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Tireman 44444, Jun 16, 2022.

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  1. Tireman 44444

    Tireman 44444 Well-Known Member

    Some educators, parents, and community members are questioning the integrity of Malden Superintendent Ligia Noriega-Murphy, who has been unable to provide proof of a doctorate degree she says she earned nine years ago.

    The first-year superintendent, who worked for more than two decades in Boston, started attracting scrutiny when she began using the honorific title “Dr.” this school year in official school district communications. The school chief didn’t include the doctorate on her resume when she applied for the job last year, which means the degree was never verified during her application process.


    ‘Her story is highly suspect’: Malden superintendent’s education credentials called into question (msn.com)
     
    Michael Burgos, chrisjm18 and Dustin like this.
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Wow. She sounds like a little kid getting deeper and deeper into her story about how the lamp got broken, but she didn't break it.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  3. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    She went all in, using Dr 9 times in her biography. Here's the specific claim: "Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy holds a Doctorate in Leadership in Education from the University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain"

    And here is her resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZgK4g66T6dLcD0EU2pTirdI8bL0O8J7r/view

    ...what?! So she has no proof.

    Edit:

    Also, from the school itself:

     
  4. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Unrelated: the resumes these 3 finalists submitted are not great formatting-wise. One uses different kinds of bullets throughout. In all of them, the indents are off. Bullets are too numerous and too long. They could use a solid resume re-writer to help them clean those up.
     
  5. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I don't understand something about the whole "Dr." business. Almost no one I ever run into socially or professionally refer to themselves as "Doctor" beyond medical doctors in a professional caregiving setting. The one really big exception to that was educators. If anyone ever introduces himself or herself to me as "Doctor" whoever and I am not sitting in a clinic it is an almost lead pipe certainty that the individual is an educator. Not just in a University setting, either, but socially. Why is this? I find this self-reference to be a bit off-putting.
     
    RoscoeB likes this.
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I hear you. It seems to be that one should expect to be referred to as Dr. Soandso in and only in those circumstances where one was previously referred to as Mr. or Ms. Soandso, which in today's informal culture arise awfully infrequently.
     
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  7. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes- Emphasis on "Dr so-and-so" in non-professional circumstances is bad enough. It's way worse when the "doctorate" turns out to be a "Doctor of Pathological Liarship" like the one under discussion here - and many others.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2022
  8. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Hm. Sounds interesting. Do you know of any online DPL programs?:p
     
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  9. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Why is this the case? I find that often the people who have a problem with doctoral degree holders calling themselves "Dr." are those who don't have a doctorate. The reality is that the narrative would likely change if some of those people eventually earned doctorates. IMO, if someone earns the title, they should feel free to use it.
     
    RoscoeB likes this.
  10. freeloader

    freeloader Member

    One of my favorite professors in grad school refused to allow himself to be called Doctor, despite having a PhD from a highly-regarded school, mind you. If you called him doctor he would stop what he was doing—including lecturing—and tell you in no uncertain terms that you should call him “professor” so-and-so. I wish I remember precisely what he said, but I remember him saying he didn’t want to be called doctor because people might mistake him for a veterinarian. Never had the guts to ask why it would be so terrible to be mistaken for a veterinarian.
     
    RoscoeB likes this.
  11. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    In many academic environments, "everyone" has a PhD but only certain people have earned the rank of Professor. So some people do see it as a demotion to be called doctor vs professor.

    My professors at Eastern all insisted on a first-named basis, and in my teaching I do as well. Professor so-and-so seems so overly formal. Interestingly, one of the few examples of someone insisting on being called doctor I remember was a community college professor.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2022
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  12. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Hm. No, I don't think so. I've had various titles over the years and I have never referred to myself by any title outside of a professional context. Even the unimpeachable Miss Manners explains that "Miss" is her given name and not a title.:)
     
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  13. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    That was in response to chrisjm18.
     
  14. Garp

    Garp Well-Known Member

    I respect but disagree with that approach. I think it is healthy to teach students to use respectful and deferential titles for professors who are allegedly experts in their field. There is nothing wrong with using "doctor" or "professor". It is so American and perhaps catching on to backslap everyone and pretend we are all on equal footing. No one really believes that much less should we be teaching 20-year-olds to be calling learned and experienced professors by their first names as if they are buddies. Should we also dispense with Dad and Mom just call them Frank and Maria? Now I'm thinking of that viral video where the little kid is telling the mom "Linda....listen Linda" getting frustrated with her when she does not shut up.
     
  15. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Also, you know, I'm not saying that calling oneself by a title is somehow immoral or (in most cases) illegal. I said only that I find it off-putting. Which I do.
     
  16. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    There is a very large difference between what others may call one and what one calls oneself.
     
  17. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    You're free to insist on people calling you whatever you like. Just as others are free to think you're an asshole for such insistence.

    It's a really simple formula. If, in that same scenario, it would be weird to refer to me as "Mister" then it is probably weird for someone else to insist on "Doctor." Clinical settings would be the biggest caveat to this general rule. "Hi, I'm Dr. Jones, your anesthesiologist" is very common. "Hi I'm Mr. Jones, your Physician Assistant" is less common. But that has more to do about the historical lack of the use of "Mister" in U.S. clinical settings (this obviously is different in the U.K. especially with surgeons).

    In regular daily life it's odd to insist on a title outside of circumstances where that title is relevant.

    Let me give you an example...

    I was at a training a few months ago for HR professionals. One had a doctorate. We all had those sticky name tag things. So, you know, everyone has a name tag that says "Ken" or "Mary" or "Jay" or whatever. And then there's this one guy whose nametag says "Dr. Kevin (not his real first name)." And so for the rest of the training, he refused to be referred to as anything other than "Dr. Kevin." IT was off-putting and not because I don't have a doctorate. Here we are, colleagues and equals and this guy is doing this thing to elevate himself above the crowd because of having a higher academic degree. I'm well within my rights to put "M.B.A." or "M.S." or, if I'm feeling European, "M.Sc." as post-nominal after my name. I think it looks ridiculous. Will I do it if I'm at a conference where that is the norm? Of course I will. Will I put it on my mailbox at home? No, because that's ridiculous.

    So no, the reality would not shift. I work in a building full of engineers. And those that have doctors NEVER call themselves "Doctor." We, as a company, put it as their title on official correspondence. Unless they ask us not to we put their doctoral post-nominal on business cards. But they absolutely do not walk around insisting that their peers call them "Doctor."

    Much like how "esquire" was historically used for lawyers in the U.S. as a means of respect for another lawyer. Only fairly recently did it become a reflective title that lawyers slap all over their own marketing materials.

    If you're running around having friends, family and coworkers call you by a title then it often comes off more as insecurity than rightful achievement.
     
    nosborne48 likes this.
  18. JoshD

    JoshD Well-Known Member

    I remember when I moved to Kansas and went with my major advisor to look at apartments. Everytime he introduced himself, it was as an normal person would....Hi, my name is "First Name Last Name". He never referred to himself as Dr. Obviously, out of respect, I always referred to him as Dr. Insert Name.
     
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  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Yes - at least 300 available from Universities um...established by this one company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axact I'm told many of their DPL degrees sell for 'way over the sticker price. As much as $250K after all the up-selling. And no Title IV loans either.

    As one might say in Nigerian Pidgin (even if this is a Pakistani Co.) : "Dey be wayo. Dey give me wahala. Their story got k-leg."
     
    nosborne48 likes this.
  20. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Well, good for you. I have referred to myself by my titles because it was required in some settings. As a police officer in Jamaica, I had to introduce myself to members of the public as Constable (Last name). Same in Louisiana, Officer (Last name). I do not introduce myself as "Dr." as a professor. I just give my first and last name and mention my education and experience. Some call me Dr., others say professor, and one or maybe two used "mister." I couldn't care less as long as you are respectful. I sign my emails, announcements, and discussion posts with my first name. I had a doctoral student who addressed me by my first name in emails and on the discussion boards, and I never once asked him to address me otherwise. However, those who want to be addressed as Dr., regardless of what others may think of them, should do so freely!
     
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