Congratulations to Dr Kylie !

[julian_craster]

Congratulations to Dr Kylie !

BBC NEWS:
BBC News - Honorary doctorate for Kylie Minogue

[Dame Starry]

Congratulations to Dr Kylie !

BBC NEWS:
BBC News - Honorary doctorate for Kylie Minogue

Why? It's an 'honorary' degree, seemingly awarded because she's promoted breast cancer awareness.

By those standards, there are tens of thousands of women promoting breast cancer awareness every day who are entitled to a degree.

[Edward G]

Of all the public awards that make no sense an "Honorary Degree" must be up there near the top of the list!
How meaningless can it be?
Why should a degree be awarded to someone who has not even studied for it? It demeans the status of formal academic qualifications and all just because someone gets one for charity work or hanging around long enough to be "recognised" in this misguided way.
The only thing more embarassing would be to accept one, mortar board and gown in place.
It's like a tin pot dictator awarding himeslf every medal under the sun.
Nothing against Kylie Minogue - she has achieved a great career and seems very modest- but surely she does not need a fake exam certificate!

[Steve Crook]

Why? It's an 'honorary' degree, seemingly awarded because she's promoted breast cancer awareness.

By those standards, there are tens of thousands of women promoting breast cancer awareness every day who are entitled to a degree.

Of all the public awards that make no sense an "Honorary Degree" must be up there near the top of the list!
How meaningless can it be?
Why should a degree be awarded to someone who has not even studied for it? It demeans the status of formal academic qualifications and all just because someone gets one for charity work or hanging around long enough to be "recognised" in this misguided way.
The only thing more embarassing would be to accept one, mortar board and gown in place.
It's like a tin pot dictator awarding himeslf every medal under the sun.
Nothing against Kylie Minogue - she has achieved a great career and seems very modest- but surely she does not need a fake exam certificate!

You usually get a floppy hat for a PhD, not a mortar board

An honorary doctorate doesn't give you a fake exam certificate. It's a way of honouring someone for some usually very public work. It's also a way of promoting the college - note which college made this award. Had you ever heard of it before now?

The Anglia Ruskin University is the old Cambridge School of Art but making an award like this gets them some headline publicity - because of Kylie. Likewise, the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign got lots of publicity because it's Kylie. The award doesn't say that she did more than others working in the field, just that by having such a famous name associated with the campaign gets them lots of publicity which they wouldn't have got otherwise.

It's all just PR, for the campaign and for the college

Steve

[Edward G]

Steve,
It doesn't matter if they get a floppy hat or a Stetson to me.
An honorary degree is still meaningless! Surely someone should be hononoured with a civic award for public work?
You are right, though - I had never heard of this College before. And probably never will again! An academic institution should gain recognition by setting standards and producing excellent students - not by awarding a floppy hat to Kylie Minogue.
It's not PR - its BS

[Timmy_Lea]

Why? It's an 'honorary' degree, seemingly awarded because she's promoted breast cancer awareness.

By those standards, there are tens of thousands of women promoting breast cancer awareness every day who are entitled to a degree.

Agree 100%.

[Dame Starry]

The award doesn't say that she did more than others working in the field, just that by having such a famous name associated with the campaign gets them lots of publicity which they wouldn't have got otherwise. Steve

I can't say as I heard her name mentioned very much, if at all, in connection with breast cancer awareness in the UK - and, as she is Australian and not British, she probably did it in Australia anyway.

Let Australia bestow something upon her.

[Edward G]

Ooh Missus! Next thing you'll want them to take back Rolf Harris!

Let Australia bestow something upon her.

[Steve Crook]

I had never heard of this College before. And probably never will again! An academic institution should gain recognition by setting standards and producing excellent students - not by awarding a floppy hat to Kylie Minogue.
It's not PR - its BS

Welcome to the world of academia. Colleges don't get reputations by producing excellent students. They get them by awarding honorary degrees to famous people and so getting the headlines. Then the better students go to those more famous colleges. It's all BS but that's the way it's done by all colleges. Count the number of honorary degrees awarded to senior politians, musicians and film stars. Anyone who will get them a headline

Steve

[Edward G]

Steve,
You are obviously no dunce, so I want to award you an Honorary Degree in B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.

The "Britmovie University Life Long Salutation Heralding Infinite Twaddle".
See you on Graduation Day.
Kylie can't make it.
She should be so lucky!

[Steve Crook]

Well done, so now you understand how these things work and what they are worth.

Steve

[Wolfgang]

Aren't recipients usually expected to make generous financial "donation", so they can be lucrative fundraiser too. Everyone knows they are worthless, and to be honest I think Kylie has been ripped off—someone really ought to tell her you can get fake degrees off internet for peanuts these days!

[Steve Crook]

Aren't recipients usually expected to make generous financial "donation", so they can be lucrative fundraiser too. Everyone knows they are worthless, and to be honest I think Kylie has been ripped off—someone really ought to tell her you can get fake degrees off internet for peanuts these days!

"Everyone knows they are worthless" - Apparently not, judging by some of the comments here.

Yes, recipients are usually expected to support the college in some way, either financially or by supporting their events. They are usually looking for publicity more than money

Steve

[julian_craster]

Kylie also deserves the honorary award for entertaining us all so magnificently over the last 25 years.....the girl deserves a medal for that !

[Edward G]

Steve,
I maintained from my first post that these awards are worthless.
You are the one who gave them dubious credibility, citing them as "a way of honouring someone for some usually very public work".
Now you understand, so well done yourself.

Well done, so now you understand how these things work and what they are worth.

Steve

[ShirlGirl]

Ooh Missus! Next thing you'll want them to take back Rolf Harris!

No..no..no..no..no..no..no..noooOOOOOO! Please!

[CaptainWaggett]

Rolf has no less than two well-derserved honorary doctorates

[Steve Crook]

Steve,
I maintained from my first post that these awards are worthless.
You are the one who gave them dubious credibility, citing them as "a way of honouring someone for some usually very public work".
Now you understand, so well done yourself.

But I didn't say they were of any worth

Steve

[Edward G]

I know, Steve, I didn't say you thought they were worth anything but you replied to my post saying:
"Well done, so now you understand how these things work and what they are worth"
Like I had an epic moment of realisation thanks to your revelation...
Is your middle name Aristotle or something similar?

But I didn't say they were of any worth

Steve