March 24, 2007
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Honorary Degree
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was denied an honorary degree from the University of Florida. The school’s Faculty Senate voted 38-28 against given him the honorary degree. Here is the link: Link
When I was in graduate school, I heard a professor complaining about giving out honorary degrees. He said that the rules required that the faculty vote but the president was allowed to give out the degree anyway. The professor said that giving out honorary degrees took away from those who put forth the effort to get their degrees.
Does giving out an honorary degree take away from those who worked hard for their degrees?
Comments (80)
no…o_O
no..
Depends on the situation, of course.
I’ve just noticed that every post on the first page of my subscriptions are from you. I’m willing to bet half of the second page is yours, too
I always thought it was a silly practice more based on someone’s fame and the school’s posturing than any earning of the degree. It does seem a little unfair me who worked for the degree for years (and paid through the nose to boot) to see some famous person get a fake degree.
considering that to get an honorary degree is extremely expensive.
it would be a waste if someone didn’t.
their future success however, will determine if they worked hard enough.
I would think so
Isn’t the point of an honorary degree that the person didn’t earn it at the college but did through other life experience or accomplishments? I think as long as it’s kept limited and carefully done, there’s no problem with it. (And I’m a junior in college with a 3.87 GPA, so I do know what it’s like to work for a degree.)
I would think so
I don’t see why not.
I’m proud. Top 15 comments or so
No. It is a formality. It is, as it implies, an honor only.
numba 10!
degrees are all relative anyhow… especially at that level…
I guess so.
Agree with said posts, an Honorary degree is still just an honorary degree. It will always have ‘Honorary’ tagged in front of it.
Yeah. College is very difficult, and degrees take alot of time and work to get. Why would you just give them away like that?
Wait…you mean to tell me that Jeb Bush was the governor of Florida and he didn’t have a college degree? Man, what am I doing in college?
I don’t know enough really about the bestowing of honourary degrees to really comment. In the very general sense, I think that as long as the criteria is stringent, input from many is used, and few are given out that it should be okay.
As a side note, JFK got an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from my university (The University of New Brunswick) in 1957 from Lord Beaverbook. There’s actually a little memorial to it in the Alumni Memorial Building.
does giving away money in the form of welfare take away from those who work hard for their money?
I see no problem with an honorary degree. They’re not given out to just anybody. I would think that if they’re being given out it’s with good reason. . .
To
Naw.
Not terribly so.
No. Experience is the best education. Besides, it’s honoring a person in that field, not recoginizing them for having been through the school’s program. That said, I do think it’s abused. It is quite often a way to get the college into the press.
since when do the bushes deserve an honorary degreee o0
As to porupinesol,
All tax takes away money from the worker. . .
So yes, I guess Welfare does.
But better the tax money to be used for that then who-knows-what.
What we need to do is come up with a way to give food stamps to the homeless.
It doesn’t hurt a thing, no one thinks an honorary degree is the same thing as a degree. And people that get honorary degrees certainly don’t need them to advance their careers. These are the most successful people in the world. The association does the school more good than it does them
yes.
Honorary degrees and degrees aren’t the same in my mind, so no.
Who worked hard for their degree? I sure didn’t.
yes, it is not right….they should have to work for it just like the rest of us
No, because if you get an honorary degree, you probably don’t need a real one. It’s the same thing as Winston Churchill becoming an honorary citizen. It’s not like an honorary degree has any real value anyway.
What is the purpose of a doctorate? I would say it is to show that a person has done significant research to contribute to their field of study and is an expert who can speak with a certain amount of authority on that subject that they studied. So if Governor bush gets a doctorate for… let’s say his exemplary assistance in recovering from hurricanes and they feel his actions contributed to political science knowledge or leadership or something than yes, give the man a degree. If the president of the college likes the man, screw that idea, it is a waste of a piece of paper.
It seems to me that anytime anyone does anything remotely good they are given an honorary degree from somewhere. If honorary degrees were rarer then there would be no problem with them but they are getting somewhat common.
YES! B/c a dumbass celebrity can get an honorary degree from princeton while the regular people waste away fortunes to just even get into the school. Giving out honorary degrees liuke that is just not fair.
Yes it does… people spend thousands to tens of thousands in loans and interest. It annoys me that somone can just be rich or popular and get a degree, not having to do thwe work or having to pay.
- Daniel (doubledb)
that makes me really angry.
Honorary degrees = nothing.
Yeah, I don’t like the idea. The only way you should earn your degree, whether it’s an “honourary degree” or the real deal is if you’re in school working for it and paying for it.
Well, an “Honorary Degree” already has enough of an ironic connotation for most people not to take them too seriously, including the recipients. While I’m sure they’d be delighted to receive one, they’re probably successful enough that an honorary degree is something of the icing on their career’s cake.
I think that they should only be given out with such a rare frequency that it’s not even worth fighting about. A lot of people start with nothing and pull themselves out of some pretty deep shit-holes, and fork over a lot of cash for education to get their degrees.
On the other hand, the title that accompanies the degree shouldn’t necessarily reflect how hard you’ve worked, but how much you know.
I think the comment from kellenlewis1 summed things up nicely.
you hit the nail on the head theologian. thanks for the comment.
“Isn’t the point of an honorary degree that the person didn’t earn it at the college but did through other life experience or accomplishments? I think as long as it’s kept limited and carefully done, there’s no problem with it. (And I’m a junior in college with a 3.87 GPA, so I do know what it’s like to work for a degree.)
Posted 3/24/2007 4:45 PM by annakristine270″
I concur.
Not really
Not like Jeb Bush is going to put his honorary degree under “Education” on his resume.
don’t u have to work to get the honorary degree, then the profs vote to see who worked the hardest?
In some ways, yes. I wouldn’t like knowing that some hot-shot person (politicians, for example) who get a degree just coz they’re hot-shots. I worked hard for mine! But that’s not what I usually think… It depends on that particular situation.
NOTE: Honourary degrees work differently here in my country, as compared to how it works in others (after reading some comments on how those degrees come into being).
Definitely, if it becomes common…Ouch.
I don’t think so. Most people who get honorary degrees are people who have established themselves by world experience…
I don’t think an honorary degree takes anything away from those who earned their degrees. I’m graduating in May and I know what I’ve done to earn my degree and I will walk away with complete satisfaction no matter who gets an honorary one. And as someone mentioned earlier, their degree will still have “honorary” in front of it. That makes all the difference.
From what I understand, most people who receive honorary degrees receive degrees in things that they have experience in…so like Ghandi could get an honorary degree in peace making.
Yes, it detracts from a genuine degree when a unearned one is awarded for political reasons. There is an obverse, which is the taking away of an earned qualification for political reasons, such as the stripping from Muhammad Ali of his (genuine) world boxing title for political reasons. (In the late 60s he declined to go to Vietnam and have his ass shot off, saying – correctly – that it wasn’t his war.)
Vietnam: some 60s hippy called it “the war where the white man sent the black man to kill the yellow man so he could keep the land he stole from the red man.”
whats a honery dagrie?
peaceeeee outtt
probably not
I think it’s an okay practice. Usually the school gives an honorary degree to someone important who has agreed to come and speak to their school, or to someone who the school is trying to persuade to come. It is “honorary”, after all. It’s a nice gesture more than anything else.
I’m Anti-Volcanos. How about you?
UM HELLO PEOPLE.
Those who receive honorary degrees had to work for a real degree first. They work hard, take out loans, whatever, just like everyone else, THEN make a difference.
so, who cares if people get honorary degrees? they had to work to be in the position to earn one. everyone else can do the same.
UM HELLO PEOPLE.
Those who receive honorary degrees had to work for a real degree first. They work hard, take out loans, whatever, just like everyone else, THEN make a difference.
so, who cares if people get honorary degrees? they had to work to be in the position to earn one. everyone else can do the same.
If the professors and/or tthe president think that the person deserves it, then they probably worked hard for it too, just in a different way.
Yes. (Hehehe… Jeb was DENIED)
People with more degrees than a thermometer are working at McDonald’s right now. A degree doesn’t mean squat. You go to school to LEARN something. That’s where you make your money. Not in the degree.
Honorary-shmonorary!
yes! I had to work my behind off for that degree.
Honorary degrees are really worthless. They are for show only. I mean come on, the people who get these degrees are already successful in whatever field they are in. It isn’t like they use it to find a job for crying out loud!
I’m too blah to care.
YES, it cheapens their effort… just like how NON-graduates can walk in the GRADUATION ceremony…
yes
Yes.
Absolutely.
If they were given out for lofty accomplishments in a particular field, I would respect them. HOWEVER, all too often the are given to those who make big monetary contributions or those who have political connections. That is an insult.
I got an honorary divinity degree^_^. It’s just something fun for me.
“does giving away money in the form of welfare take away from those who work hard for their money?”
Posted 3/24/2007 4:55 PM by porcupinesol
Good point- No – It doesnt take anything from me as far as my honesty, integrity or pride… It does take MY TAX DOLLARS, though… As Christians, we are supposed to help our brothers and sisters in need…
I think “honorary degrees” are kinda stupid… to me, it kinda says- “I didnt do it on my own, but they gave me this, cuz I’m so popular”… Dumb. I wouldnt want one.
Not at all. An honorary degree is… it’s worthless because the person who has it did not work for it and therefore does not have the experience of study and schooling in that field.
Anyone who doesn’t have an honorary degree did. They know. What is the point of an honorary degree anyway? My great grandfather got one for starting the goodwill industries. In that sense, it is an award of prestige for good quality work for people’s lives.
Aha!
It’s an award, and it takes noting away from real phds.
My god, are you people arguing that honorary degrees are given away like WELFARE MONEY!
Thank you, you got me laughing this morning!
Everyone should have an Asian fetish, and learn a little philosophies of Asian religion then become more Buddhist! Suddenly arging on theologians_cafe is like running in the special olympics.
Even if you win…
Your still retarded.
I know I will do it again.
Not really. Though, why do half of the people that receive one need it anyway? If you are an expert or leader in your field and don’t have one (doubtful), I say sure, honor them. But Mick Jagger? Please.
It’s a PR thing. I think a lot of people who have honorary doctorates aren’t really doctorate material though. In some ways, I do think it takes away from those who go to school for it.
yes. I don’t see why they need to give out a degree, give a full ride or something, not the degree.
Yes.
Why would anyone want to give an honorary degree to that maniacs brother?
It’s an insult to people who really deserve an honorary degree.
Impeach.
I think it does take something away from the people who spend four years or more of thier life working to achieve something.
No, I can name a few people on top of my head that really deserve an honorary degree. Jackie Chan may sound like a funny candidate to receive an honorary degree from Hong Kong University, but he made a point to educate himself later on in his life. He also donated a lot of money and used his fame for fundraising to build schools in China, in the rural areas where it’s not easy for children to get an education. In my book, any person making an effort in giving back to the community after he or she “made it” deserves such honor.
does giving away money in the form of welfare take away from those who work hard for their money?
good point. These issues are telling people that they are exceptions to rules. Everyone should be able to get them or no one. It’s not fair otherwise, right?
Well….I just earned my BBA at Baylor and will soon be off to Law School…All I know is that I worked HARD for that piece of paper framed on my wall. Years of hard work, studying, pencils broken in half, and tears went into all my tests. And to give out an honorary degree makes me think that I could have skipped all that hoop-la and been given it.
On the other hand, when I graduated, another person (100 year old man) was given an honorary degree because he was short one beginning class of Chemistry when he had to leave to support his family. He was sent a degree on accident, but never claimed to have gotten a degree from there. In those dire cirmcumstances, mayhaps I could make an exception. Now, speaking of the Oscars…that is a totally different ball-game.