Saw this post and thought I would share... Interesting Author: SOPHISM (registered user) Date: 07-24-2014 08:31 ABUSE OF HONORARY DOCTORATE BY MR. EKOW SPIO-GARBRAH I didn’t know Mr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah has been calling himself “Dr.” when I wrote the piece “Mr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah and the use of honorary degree,” until Elder Abosti provided me with his website address: sites.dmaxstudios/spiogarbrah/bio.html. I thought people, especially, some sections of the Ghanaian press, who do not understand academic protocol are responsible for ascribing “Dr.” to Mr. Spio Garbrah. I visited his website and noted every page suffused with “Dr. Ekow”, “Dr. Spio” and “Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah.” It is very unfortunate that a man like Spio, who has accomplished so much in life, still feels incomplete without attaching a “Dr.,” an honorary one– a certificate of appreciation to his name. Why would Mr. Spio stoop so low to do something that even Iron Mike will not do? Does he not know that there are lots of people walking around with earned doctorate who will never achieve half of what he has accomplished? I feel sorry for him and others whose self-confidence rest on holding a doctoral degree. I have met people with doctoral degrees who will never achieve anything comparable to what Mr. Garbrah has accomplished. Yet Mr. Garbrah feels insecure and unworthy without the unethical use of a “Dr.” Just as people buy degrees they did not study for, one can get an honorary degree without studying for it. The University of Berkley – not the University of California, Berkeley, is an online institution that offers honorary doctorates “to a select group of highly accomplished individuals like you,” for a minimum fee of $2000. The University dishonestly claims, “An honorary doctorate is entirely legitimate and the title conferred may be used like any other. The degree is awarded to those who have demonstrated an Honoris Causa, or cause to be honored. For a small support honorarium (donation) you may participate in our Honorary Doctorate Program.” But, do not let an online university like The University of Berkley fool you. Honorary degrees are awarded by some universities to people in recognition of their achievements, without actually completing a degree or a course – even without setting foot on the university campus. Honorary degrees are conferred, “honoris causa,” meaning for the sake of the honor. In other words, honorary degree is just a certificate of appreciation or recognition. Some universities do not confer honorary doctorate, because of the controversy surrounding it. Universities like MIT, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Stanford, California Institute of Technology and others do not confer honorary degrees, because of its abuse by people like Spio Garbrah, and the negative response it engenders at times. Normally, honorary degree recipients may only be addressed as “Dr.” in correspondence from the granting institution and not other universities or not in their professional life off campus. One may only use the pertinent post-nominal abbreviation with their name, if they qualify it with “honoris causa” to indicate that the degree is honorary, not earned. Even people who have never set foot to a university campus know that such certificates of appreciation are not supposed to be used in professional life. Mike Tyson received an honorary doctorate from Central State University in Ohio in 1989, but never used it. As a matter of fact, he does not even mention it on his website. George Foreman also received an honorary doctorate from Texas Southern University, but does not mention it in his resume. Other recipients of honorary doctorates are Celine Dion, Mohammad Ali, Gloria Estefan, Oprah Winfred, Aretha Franklin, Robert De Niro and many more. Yet none of them uses it anywhere, knowing it is just a certificate of appreciation. Mr. & Mrs. Rawlings have received honorary doctorates, but they are never addressed as “Dr.” So, Mr. Spio, do the right thing and stop calling yourself “Dr.” because such unethical behavior undermines your integrity.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 15:31:55 +0000
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