tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post897910621552654285..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: h-DegreesFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-90069242551975681492009-06-12T06:47:19.968-05:002009-06-12T06:47:19.968-05:00Not that its ever been offered, but I would NEVER ...Not that its ever been offered, but I would NEVER accept an honorary degree from any institution. I busted a** for my earned degree - honorary doctorates cheapen the real thing.moznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-62944275782259878202009-06-12T05:16:15.973-05:002009-06-12T05:16:15.973-05:00Butz was also one of the leaders of the Mormons. ...Butz was also one of the leaders of the Mormons. In that capacity he probably got a slew of honorary degrees (from Brigham Young if no where else)EliRabetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07957002964638398767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-7711270368958816482009-06-12T00:46:28.850-05:002009-06-12T00:46:28.850-05:00Earl Butz!
I can't believe how you pulled a...Earl Butz! <br /><br />I can't believe how you pulled an allusion to that guy out of your head. <br /><br />Did anyone give him an honorary degree? All Google turned up was an emeritus office at Purdue.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-87966473783932980242009-06-12T00:23:29.179-05:002009-06-12T00:23:29.179-05:00Getting an honorary degree from somewhere that you...Getting an honorary degree from somewhere that you already had a degree from? That does seem bizarre!<br /><br />My university just awarded an honorary degree to a religious leader, and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that. Yes, he does do a lot of charity work and inspires people, but the same could be said for many religious leaders.Enginerdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02331969981125587334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-25666355510804651382009-06-11T22:30:44.840-05:002009-06-11T22:30:44.840-05:00PhD degrees are not meant to be awards or honors. ...PhD degrees are not meant to be awards or honors. They are simply to indicate that one has attained a level of expertise and skill to conduct independent scholarly research on a narrow topic. (for example do medical schools give out honorary MD's?) Therefore I don't see the point in giving honorary doctorates for professional achievements or societal contributions. There's lots of other more appropriate awards to give deserved recognition <br /><br />The exception would be if the recipient's work was of a sufficiently academic nature on par with what would normally be required to get a doctorate in that field. An example would be Jane Goodall. Even though she did get her PhD the 'conventional' way, before she went back to grad school she had already conducted groundbreaking field work in primate research. Thus if she hadn't gone back to grad school, I think an honorary doctorate for situations like hers is appropriate. Otherwise, if the recipient is being honored for work that is not academic in nature, then I don't see the point of giving them a honorary PhD rather than another type of award or honor.<br /><br />Unless the point being that honorary doctorates are totally different from "real" doctorates and shouldn't be taken to be "real" degrees.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-26875955420398470952009-06-11T19:23:26.248-05:002009-06-11T19:23:26.248-05:00I don't see the issue.
Honorary degrees are a...I don't see the issue.<br /><br />Honorary degrees are a different category than degrees, so I don't think any confusion arises. And they seem to me an appropriate honor to alumni who have distinguished themselves, as well as a thank you to rich donors or an enticement to rich potential donors.John Vidalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871768524749705799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-62814007218417280752009-06-11T14:44:50.854-05:002009-06-11T14:44:50.854-05:00When I graduated from my masters program at an aca...When I graduated from my masters program at an academic medical center they handed out a slew of h-degrees to a slew of no-names and do-nothings. Some guy who was an administrator with the VA and ran a biotech company, another was a former member of the board of trustees. I think h-degrees are pretty much crap, there may be a few cases where I think they should be handed out for significant contributions to field throughout a lifelong career (somebody like a Bob Weinberg), major prize winners (I'm talking Nobel, not science fair), and maybe a few other things but not for someone who got promoted to the branch manager of Wendy's or dumped in a chunk a change.Genomic Repairmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07755692245709237397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-24123048485391710302009-06-11T13:38:33.477-05:002009-06-11T13:38:33.477-05:00When I graduated from my MRU, they gave an honorar...When I graduated from my MRU, they gave an honorary PhD to an alumnus who is now the CEO of some major finance company in the state and gives lots of $$$$$ to the MRU. <br /><br />Being rich was/is his only accomplishment. So it happens.JLKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05396471022931966499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-16983464784773087212009-06-11T10:05:59.913-05:002009-06-11T10:05:59.913-05:00It is tacky to mention citation counts and h-index...It is tacky to mention citation counts and h-indexes unless they are positively out of this world, like top three in their entire field. <br /><br />The committee making the assesment will look those figures up regardless so there is no need to mention them. Ditto for the number of papers published. Pretty much everyone looks at the bibliometrics. <br /><br />Use the space instead to highlight non obvious things, e.g., first famous paper published while still an undergrad.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-22759363362784273162009-06-11T10:05:26.084-05:002009-06-11T10:05:26.084-05:00I, too, find it very weird that somebody would be ...I, too, find it very weird that somebody would be considered for an honorary doctorate from a place where they received an ACTUAL doctorate.<br /><br />If I were that somebody, maybe in the back of my mind I would worry that from then on, if & when my name was mentioned in popular media, they would say I had an h-doctorate from so&so, which to me is less credible than the real thing that I also had.average professorhttp://www.averageprofessor.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-21279718411156010452009-06-11T08:25:58.869-05:002009-06-11T08:25:58.869-05:00Graduation is a ceremony for the parents and gradu...Graduation is a ceremony for the parents and graduates. To the extent that someone gives them a happy feeling that their college/university is important it increases the happiness of the audience and thus the possibility that they will retain a connection with the institution, and maybe, just maybe, give a few $ to the beggar at the gate. Thus it makes perfect sense to honor alumni with PhDs, etc.EliRabetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07957002964638398767noreply@blogger.com