Ireland's Chief Science Advisor has bogus degree

If he's a scientist, and if he states publicly that he wrote a dissertation of a scientific nature, then by the common rules of conduct and ethics of scientific inquiry, he must produce (to the concerned and offended party) that reported result to substantiate the claim.

If he cannot produce that reported result without the standard, verifiable reasons for not being able to do so (such as loss, theft, or whatever), regardless of all other qualifications having been met for employment, he would have violated a principle of scientific inquiry: that is, he would be seen has having intentionally misrepresented scientific results.

A scientist who intentionally misrepresents scientific results, in a key scientific position, anywhere, should be as humanely as possible dismissed from his position, with cause, without recourse. He should not be given a chance to rewrite what he claims to have written. This would be a simple violation of scientific process.

In my mind (tired as it is), it is not at any point about accreditation in this case. It is about a scientist having the appearance of having lied about scientific results. The matter of the reputation of the university may have been the spark, but the matter of misrepresentation of results is the true gasoline. The matter of the reputation of the alma mater is somewhere near to what color shoes Her Majesty the Queen is wearing on any particular day. The matter of misrepresenting results is far dearer to any scientist.

Allowing him to rewrite something never written would be to perpetuate that misrepresentation.

I believe people, even scientists, must be permitted errors of judgment. This does not mean I feel that scientists who misrepresent scientific results ought not be dismissed if this is discovered. He either produces the documentation of his originally claimed results, or under the Chev. Jackson administration, he would be terminated with cause and allowed to pursue repentance in a dignified, humane way, without further comment. (I also believe that people do not merit a scarlet letter.) If immediate termination would cause undue hardship to his immediate family, I would ask him to resign in a letter admitting to his error of judgment, the letter would be locked away, and standard severance would be paid to allow him to proceed in his life without causing extreme distress to his family. The public announcement would be: "He has resigned, admitting his error of scientific judgment, and there shall be no further comment on the matter. To alleviate family distress, the state has severed him from employment with a package adequate to mitigate that distress."

As for any university willing to allow him 6 months only to save face (if indeed he did not write the originally claimed dissertation), I see that as not allowing him to save face, but merely to prolong the consequences of the error. It would put the university and scientific principles in serious peril were they to allow themselves to be so manipulated by political agenda.

Finally -- if he wrote the thing as originally claimed, and can produce it -- regardless of the quality of it or the reputation of the school -- the Chev. Jackson administration would issue a public statement to that effect, and would keep him on, again with no further comment, even if it meant the demise of the Chev. Jackson political empire.

Based upon his reluctance to put forth what ought to have been in the public survey (given the nature of doctoral theses' being about contribution the body of knowledge), it is my personal belief that it can't be produced because it was not written as represented. I do not know this, but this is what I feel. For science's sake, and for his sake, I hope he wrote it, but won't bet the farm on that hope.

 

Giving this guy an opportunity to remediate some shortcoming in his biography is NOT the issue.

The issue is that someone in a very high place, someone in a very high academic place, claims a doctorate from a school with little more than a business license. Giving him a "do-over" doesn't change the original act. Besides, I think the doctorate isn't a requirement for his position anyway.

Again, not that he's missing a real doctorate. He presented a fake one as a real one, that's what's going to burn him.

 

OK. So I'm being lenient and you're being strict. Interesting, no?
You want this guy to fry, I'm just responding to the clear political climate in which the "fry-o-lator" seems to be broken. If it was solely up to me I would have fired McSweeney the minute he refused to produce his dissertation. I'm not sure why they are in such a struggle over this issue. I'm just looking for a compromise position. Maybe it doesn't exist. That's OK with me. Why do you think they are hesitating to pull the trigger?
Jack

 

I see two possibilities, three are they in number:

1. "They" know something we don't.
2. Political chits.
3. Due process.

Fry? No. Admit error in judgment, accept consequences, and repent, if it is that he claims a scientific result that didn't in fact occur. Yes.

Since I can't know the absolutes -- all I can do is watch and see how it proceeds. Whatever the truth is, the whole thing is an ugly mess that should never have happened. But things happen. People err. I hope for a dignified but correct resolution to the matter. Hope springs eternal.

 

Its unfortunate for McSweeney, but fortunte for me as this makes an excellent case study for my 'disserthesis'.

Cheers,

George

 

Regarding the McSweeney issue:

I am a Prof in an Irish University and have been reading your interesting exchange of views. I think the following points are worth making:

Re the "outing" of McSweeney; there had been many whispers about his doctorate (from where did he get it? etc) prior to its exposure by the Sunday Independent. In an interview with McSweeney, the Irish Times had already mentioned that he had received what he called "an earned PhD" from PWU. It is obvious that McSweeney already knew it was, at least, an 'unorthodox' qualification due to his choice of the phrase 'earned' when asked by the reporter.

The journalist with the Sunday Independent who first wrote about it (having spotted it in the IT) deserves congratulations for publicising the fact that the Irish Chief Science Adviser was inappropriately using the title 'Dr' to provide him with enhanced credibility. If he was not using the title and had kept the PhD quiet then there would be no issue. However, all government press releases refer to him as 'Dr'.

One of McSweeney's jobs is to promote PhD-level research in Ireland. McSweeney has claimed he was unaware of any problem with PWU until the newspapers investigated his qualification. If, as he would like us to believe, he thought that an institution advertising degrees based on life experience was a credible institution then he is stupid and, therefore, is not up to the job of advising the government on PhD-level research.

Given that McSweeney has significant experience and is a very bright individual (I can attest to the latter as I have met him face-to-face), the much more credible explanation is that he wished to be called 'Dr' but did not want to go through the effort of enrolling in a PhD program in an Irish University or any other university that would require 3-4 years of full-time research. According to his CV, he received his PWU PhD in 1994 although we are now told that it was 1992 (an "administrative error" on his CV apparently!). The fact that McSweeney has gone to lengths to cover up the origin of his PhD suggests he knew precisely the problem with his 'PhD'. It also explains the confusion mentioned on this thread over whether he also has a PhD from Dublin University (Trinity College). He hasn't. However, he has been happy for this to be stated in a number of articles without it being subsequently corrected. See this article from the journalist who originally broke the story:
http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/6665765?view=Eircomnet

Whether or not the job of Chief Science Adviser requires a PhD is not the issue. If we accept the innocent explanation that he did not know that a PhD from PWU was not legitimate in academic circles, he is obviously not up to the job of advising the Government on doctoral research. If he did know but was happy to use the 'Dr' title then his credibility is irrevocably damaged as it will be impossible for him to be a convincing advocate for research (particularly PhD level - my PhD students are wondering why they are putting in all the effort if they can just buy one!). In addition, his role had meant that he has become involved in debates regarding GMOs, for example. His scientific credibility is now damaged and he is unlikely to be taken seriously by the various stakeholders in such debates.

The time allowed for 'due process' by the Government, i.e. why they have not fired him yet is probably because he may be refusing to resign (he is a rather arrogant individual). Under European Labour Law, given that the PhD was not an offical requirement, it may be quite difficult to fire him.

Ireland remains extremely strict regarding what institutions are allowed to call themselved universities. There are 6 universities in Ireland. Just two institutions have gained university status since 1900. It is also very strict regarding degree-awarding status (by the way, this means the idea of getting him to register and submit his PhD in six months is a non-starter and would not reverse the damage in any case). A beneficial side-effect of this controversy is that, hopefully, it will discourage others from claiming titles and qualifications which have not been earned in an appropriate manner and ensure that proper checks are put in place for all government appointments.

PS. The lack of much public comment by Irish Science academics is for two reasons: 1) they reckon he is on his was out so don't want to be seen to stamp on his grave but the much more likely explanation: 2) he is highly influential in how the enormous science research budget of the government is allocated!

 

Welcome aboard, irlprof! Thank you for a very informative and eloquent post!
I hope you post more on many issues.

 

Ditto on the welcome, irlprof.

There hasn't been much Emerald in the distance learning discussions, so...is there anything to discuss?

 

Thanks for the post Prof. So, in your eyes, he is a villain, and knew full well what he was walking into. The next few days will be very interesting, and I hope you will be available for comment.

Just a brief not on your statement:

Erm...take a look here:

http://www.warnborough.edu
http://www.iiuedu.ie
http://www.dmuedu.com
http://www.iubusch.org/Welcome.htm

Cheers,

George

 

Thank you George for keeping it real.
Jack

 

Thank you so much for your views; very much appreciated.

From what I've read over the past few days, it now appears that McSweeney is tacitly acknowledging that he did no new work to get his Ph.D., but (as indeed is the model at Pacific Western), it was given entirely based on his prior learning. So the media demands to see his dissertation or thesis (which I helped ignite) is probably leading nowhere. It seems likely that it simply does not exist.

 

That would be my guess too.
Jack

 

Thanks to the new poster. Great info.

Of course it doesn't exist. Otherwise, he'd produce it. Or if it exists, it is shameful. Either way, he's trying to find a way out while staying in. I hope he fails. Not only do I think he's a fraud, it would be another example of someone getting trashed for holding an unaccredited, but otherwise legal, degree.

 

And this is the line that degree mills peddle every time. Legal but unaccredited. I think, from the cases I have read, this just isn't worth taking the risk. However, clearly many do.

Cheers,

George

 

Hi George,
Thanks for those links. However, none of those institutions legally award degrees in Ireland. Unless they are a university recognised by the Universities Act 1997 (in which case they can award degrees without government interference):
see http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/act_universitiesI_1997.htm
or the degrees are recognised by the HETAC (http://www.hetac.ie/), they are not legal. I know that the Government is very concerned that these institutions are saying they are legal in Ireland. I bet that all those websites are hosted outside of Ireland - otherwise they would be prosecuted.

An example of how seriously the University designation is taken is shown by the following:

Despite the fact that there are many 'Institutes of Technology' such as Dublin Institute of Technology (www.dit.ie) who have mobilised extraordinary pressure to have themselves recognised as Universities (e.g DIT paid Skilbeck, the former Deputy Director for Education of the Directorate for Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs of the OECD to support their case - see
http://www.dit.ie/DIT/news/2003/skilbeck.html
the Government has held firm and not created any more universities unlike Thatcher did with the former Polytechics in the UK). You should know from your own thread that, just because a website says something, you should not necessarily believe it!

Keep up the good work.

 

To be more specific regarding your links:

www.warnborough.edu: I can't find any mention of Ireland on this site but perhaps (although unlikely I imagine) you mistakenly think Ireland is part of the UK. Their contact address is "Warnborough Worldwide
Warnborough House
8 Vernon Place
Canterbury
Kent CT1 3WH
United Kingdom" not Ireland!

www.iiuedu.ie states: "The Minister of Education of Isle of Man Government granted the approval for University title in the corporation. The corporation has been approved overseas by the Minister of Domestic Trade & Consumer Affairs Malaysia and registered as a foreign entity to act as the international office of the University....The Irish International University was granted full accreditation by the Educational Quality Accreditation Commission based in Spain, Europe. All the professional programmes have been benchmarked by the independent QAC-UK which ensures that the programmes achieve the minimum required professional standard. The University is a recognised member of several European and international bodies such as the British Quality Foundation & London Excellence, British Learning Association, Development Education Association, European Council for Business Education, International Council of Open and Distance Education, Forum for Advancement of Continuing Education, Asian Association of Open Universities, North London Chamber of Commerce and the Malaysian International Chamber of Commence and Industry....The University profile has been published in a number of British Qualifications editions and the Times Professional Qualification guide. The associate on-campus colleges of the University are registered with the Department of Education and Skills in the United Kingdom and internationally with the Ministries of Education in the respective countries."
Note: The Isle of Man is part of the UK not Ireland. Neither is Ireland part of Malaysia or Spain. Ireland has clearly not accredited this Institution.


www.dmuedu.com website states: Dublin Metropolitan University website says "Although Irish in aspiration and foundation it aspires to be also registered in many other jurisdictions.
Being registered in Ireland does not mean accreditation or recognition by the Irish Government. Its courses are not registered with the Department of Education and Science because only public universities are granted accreditation in Ireland....Administration is from Ireland but the University does not offer or provide any courses in Ireland. This is because state funded education in Ireland is readily available to its citizens"
Therefore, it is clear that DMU does not award degrees in Ireland and is not entitled to do so.

www.iubusch.org website: The Irish University Business School says it is based in "40 Pembroke Square, Kensington, London W8 6PE
Tel: 00 44 (0)709 201 2910 Fax: 00 44 (0)870 831 9379
email : [email protected]"
Therefore, not in Ireland.

 

For those of you who don't want to subscribe: The latest from the Sunday Independent today highlights how sad this case is and how unfortunate it is that McSweeney was so vain as to need to be called 'Dr':

"Minister is considering future for State adviser

FRANK KHAN

ENTERPRISE Minister Michael Martin was last night considering the future of the Government's chief scientific adviser Dr Barry McSweeney as concern mounts over the source of his PhD degree.

Mr Martin has met Dr McSweeney twice in the past week during which he asked for, and received, information about the degree awarded by the highly discredited Pacific Western University (PWU) in the United States.

The Sunday Independent revealed in an investigation last month that Dr McSweeney's controversial degree was obtained from the PWU, labelled an unaccredited "diploma mill" in the United States and a fake institution by the Swedish government.

Our investigation made clear that while Dr McSweeney had an unblemished business career and degrees from UCC, his use of the title "Dr" is the only contentious issue as most serious academics take years to earn a PhD from a recognised institution - which PWU is not.

Dr McSweeney has refused to comment to the Sunday Independent and has instead tried to dismiss the valid and serious concerns - many of them from fellow academics - about his doctorate as a "media circus" which he claims has upset his friends and colleagues.

Speaking to the Irish Times last week he complained that he had been "under the hammer" for five weeks. The paper also bizarrely stated in its introduction that there were "claims" Dr McSweeney's PhD was from PWU, a fact firmly established.

Writing in today's Sunday Independent, Martin Ince, a writer for the New Scientist magazine who interviewed Dr McSweeney for the magazine and who is also the author of the Times Higher Education Supplement's World University Rankings, says: "It is hard to make out exactly why such a successful individual should pad his CV as McSweeney seems to have done.

"He is plainly capable of doing a PhD at a top university. Most likely he did not have several spare years in which to do so."

The PWU globally advertises its unrecognised "fee-for-degree" qualifications on the internet and in academic circles the qualifications are regarded as having no merit or standing whatsoever.

Yesterday pressure was mounting for Dr McSweeney to step aside but a spokeswoman for the Minister told the Sunday Independent it would be "a number of days" before a process the two men were engaged in would be concluded.

However, Dr McSweeney's position has been seriously undermined by former University of Limerick president and Science Council chairman Dr Ed Walsh who said the scandal was threatening to embarrass and set back Ireland's entire scientific reputation.

In an Irish Examiner interview he added Dr McSweeney was "in a very awkward position but so is the scientific community and this is not a matter that is improved bydelay." In his comment on the issue Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said it was of paramount importance to Ireland of maintaining a credible image in the wider scientific community.

"Our necessity to try to develop science in the country to the best image and increase our PhDs is hugely important." "

and the interview with the New Scientist Guy:

" Is there a doctor in the House, please?

FOR a country to get a chief science adviser for the first time must be like buying your first house. Everyone you know has done it, and they recommend the experience. But you still don't know how it is going to work out and whether you have made a good choice.

The Irish Government must have thought it had matters under control in September 2004 when it gave Barry McSweeney the job. He looked the part. He had that mix of European, US and Irish experience that Dublin most likes. He even, it seems, came recommended by Neil Kinnock, perhaps the only politician to emerge from a spell as European Commissioner with his reputation enhanced.

It now turns out that newspapers writing about McSweeney have a problem. Is he Dr McSweeney or not? His academic start in life was enviable, with two degrees from UCC [incorrect: his Master's is from Dublin University]. But his doctorate is from a Californian institution called Pacific Western University, which is widely regarded as a cash-for-certificates "diploma mill" and has been subject to many legal actions in the US. McSweeney is fighting his corner and is in good company. Despite the institution's legal problems in the United States, US government employees are among those who have cheered up their CVs with Pacific Western qualifications. But the indications are unfavourable.

Normally, getting a PhD means extended research to answer a detailed scientific question. It involves producing and defending a hefty thesis. A PhD is to research what a pilot's licence is to flying - proof that you are fit to be let loose on your own in a high-stakes game.

By contrast, McSweeney's PhD seems to have been gained partly by credit for experience in setting up Biotechnology Ireland, not by research. Skilled watchers of diploma mills regard any acknowledgement of "life experience" as a hazard light over what ought to be an academic qualification. Early this year, I interviewed McSweeney for the New Scientist, a London science magazine of world reputation. McSweeney has a huge amount to say on almost every topic, and is a person of great charm. But I noticed one exception to his general volubility. Asked about his PhD, he volunteered only that it has been "in biotechnology" and that he had done it "in Ireland". He did not enjoy the resulting article. But his complaints did not include an attempt to enlighten me about Pacific Western.

But a look at the things about McSweeney that everyone agrees on suggests a different story. He had a successful career with US medical equipment firms in the US and Europe. In the shape of Biotechnology Ireland, he was instrumental in setting up an organisation which connects the country tosome of the world's most vital innovation.

McSweeney is plainly a capable scientist and science bureaucrat. In his previous job, he turned the European Commission's Joint Research Centre from a place everyone wanted to shut into a valued part of the EU machine.

Nor are his achievements to do with remote theory. Research at the JRC provided the indispensable scientific case for the ban on smoking in public which has arrived in Ireland and is now taking root across Britain and the rest of the EU. In 50 years, there will be thousands of people alive who would have died if this science had not been done. How many of us can say that about our life's work?

It is hard to make out exactly why such a successful individual should pad his CV as McSweeney seems to have done. He is plainly capable of doing a PhD at a top university. Most likely he did not have several spare years in which to do so. Perhaps he got fed up with being the only "Mr" at meetings full of doctors and professors.

I have had the same sensation more than once. He may well have judged that although a doctorate is not strictly necessary to get the top jobs in science, having one would make it simpler to climb the greasy pole.

But for anyone whose job involves advising ministers, representing their country around the world, or getting difficult-to-please groups such as scientists and industrialists to agree with each other, reputation is everything. McSweeney's has certainly been damaged. How sound can someone's judgement be if they leave a ticking bomb in their record that is bound to explode at some point?

The pity is that despite these severe problems, everything McSweeney has said about improving Irish science and technology makes sense. He is right that Ireland needs better science education, more research, and a more adventurous approach to catching the next wave of global innovation. The advice he was offering the Government was probably worth taking, even if his authority to offer it has suffered a fatal blow.

Martin Ince is a science journalist based in London. He edits the Times Higher Education Supplement's World University

Martin Ince"

 

Awrighty then -- who here has been coaching the journalists in such terms as "ticking bomb"?

BTW -- just one deep question per thesis? Wish I'd know that sooner.

 

Exactly, and why do you think they do it? Because they can incorporate with the word 'university' in a jurisdiction which sounds vaguely British (I used to live in the North of England so, yes, I do know where Ireland is) and 'legally' offer degrees in the UK. I don't want to cloud this thread with discussion over Ireland as a convenience jurisdiction to feign legitimacy - there are many more threads which provide this information. I've been researching these topics for over 6 years, and am happy to point you in the direction of more information if you like.

Cheers,

George

 

Hello Irlprof. Welcome to the board.

Concerning George's point, he's responding to this:

(It's a little wide of the McSweeney issue, but it is something that Degreeinfo has been talking about a lot in the past.)

I think that your point is well taken, except that you probably should have written "allowed to function in Ireland while using the title 'universities' in place of "allowed to call themselves universities".

It seems that Ireland, like most jurisdictions around the world, regulates the provision of courses and degrees within its territory. But there doesn't seem to be any prohibition against registering a business with the word 'university' in its name. And as long as the business doesn't try to function as an educational institution inside Ireland by offering courses and degrees, it doesn't seem to come under Irish education law.

Now move your attention across the Irish sea to Great Britain. At the present time the United Kingdom is probably one of the world's most notorious havens for degree mills. Since they passed their "reform legislation" a few years ago, they now allow branches of foreign universities to operate in the UK without any government supervision at all. They just assume that the university's home government will do it.

There's nothing really objectionable about that. But unfortunately, the British government has adopted the truly stupid policy (sorry, but it is) of defining entities that are operated by British residents from British soil and award their degrees in Britain, entities that have no educational presence at all in their "home" countries, as foreign universities so long as they are incorporated abroad.

I don't think that Ireland bears much blame for that sad state of affairs. The perpetrators could incorporate over here in the US or on a Caribbean island. (Some do.) Ireland is a popular offshore incorporation spot because it's English-speaking and only a short flight away, I guess. Maybe the paper work is easy.

But the net result is Dublin saying that since these things don't offer courses and degrees in Ireland, they aren't Ireland's responsibility. While London is insisting that since they aren't incorporated in the UK, they aren't Britain's responsibility. So a host of fake "universities" fall through the cracks and operate without any government regulation by anyone.