I came across this stunning article about the daughter of West Virginia’s Governor, Joe Manchin III, being given an honorary ‘executive master of business administration degree.’ Heather Bresch was awarded the angry-crowd-inducing college degree from West Virginia University. What!? Why?

I’m confused—I was under the impression that anyone having an honorary college degree bestowed upon them was (a) already exhibiting superior amazingness in their field and so warranted a degree in that particular area of expertise for their work; (b) old enough to be solidly a grown-up, past average college age and pretty well into their career, thereby rendering them improbable future matriculation material.

I always saw an honorary college degree as something a college or a university gives to a mature adult who may or may not have earned a degree in their lifetime, but whose career and subsequent gathering of wisdom, knowledge and life experience has shown the world (and apparently the university in question) that they have learned lots of good stuff and have contributed to mankind in such a way that would warrant a matriculation-free degree. So you can see why I’d be confused by the daughter of someone special(ish) receiving an honorary degree. Are her genes worthy of a degree minus the matriculation part?

Bresch is well into her career, yes, and it could be argued that she’s beyond the average age of an MBA student (but that’s iffy, the MBA is a popular degree to come back to as an established professional). She could have maybe convinced me (and the ethics committee) that she was deserving of the degree that she had only done about half the work for if there hadn’t been a lot of covering up, transcript padding, grades added to previously incomplete coursework, and just overall sketchy motives involved with the awarding of the degree.

As it turns out, it was all a big ugly web of politics and lies and had nothing whatsoever to do with special qualities or life experiences. I’m not in the habit of wishing ill on people, but I find it comforting to know that it ended badly for all involved parties. Let’s all learn from their mistakes and not try to give or receive degrees based on doctored transcripts and possible political favors. You can read all the sordid details below.

Further Reading:

WVU Names Magrath Interim President After Scandal
West Virginia U President Will Resign to End Degree Controversy
WVU’s President Will Resign to End Degree Scandal
The Story of a Cover-Up
Criticism for Degree to Governor’s Daughter
Heather Bresch Didn’t Earn Degree From WVU, Report Says
Questions Raised Over How WVU Granted Mylan Executive Her Degree

Posted by Alexa Harrington

There are several points in every person’s life in which a major, life-changing decision must be made. I myself have never had to decide whether to work toward my Special Forces qualification or to go to law school, but I’ve always wondered how that thought process would go…My major life decisions were more along the lines of which order to do grad school, career and motherhood.

Steve Bogucki at Educated Soldier has a post up in which he works through his Special Forces vs. law school quandary. It’s very interesting, as is his blog. I think he and I are probably at opposite ends of the political spectrum, but that doesn’t mean I can’t respect him as a dedicated soldier and as an intelligent student. Also, his Mom pointed me in the direction of his blog, and he refers to her as his ‘confidante’, so he can’t be all bad.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

Dr. Julie-Ann McFann over at Around the Academy wrote a beautiful post about the new GI Bill issue. She writes from the perspective of not only the daughter-in-law of a WWII veteran who benefited greatly from the GI Bill, but also as an educator who has taught students that enlisted in the military because it was the most realistic shot any of them had at paying for a college education. She’s as cranky as I am about the whole thing.

Posted by Alexa Harrington

Author’s note: In this post we get to watch Alexa (that is me) attempt to maintain some degree of composure, dignity and professional distance with regards to the subject matter: The newest version of the GI Bill. Not to ruin the ending, but I fail miserably.

Attempt #1
I had a hard damn time writing this post—with every bit of reading I did to research it, I was torn between (a) moving to Canada and performing lewd gestures in GW’s general direction before crossing the border, or (b) getting out my vast amounts of anger and frustration by writing all sorts of politically incorrect and horribly unprofessional (and not the slightest bit educational) rantings and expletives regarding what was previously thought to be a medical impossibility, but that the Bush Administration has plainly been able to achieve. It involves heads and asses and walking and talking and I will refrain from painting the full picture here.

Attempt #2
To sum up quickly and professionally: one tiny reward the U.S. government offers its men and women who have fought for their country is the promise of some financial help with their college education. Back in the day, the GI Bill was actually pretty helpful. These days, the amount of money the government is willing to fork out for the higher education of those who served is pathetic when compared to the phenomenal pile of cash it was more than willing to spend on skipping off to war (la la la). Wow. I did not plan that last paragraph—it just came out. I may actually be incapable of writing about this while maintaining some level of detachment.

Attempt #3
Clearly, I must recuse myself from writing further about this issue. I can’t even get through one or two lines of polite explanation regarding my stance on the subject without falling face-first off the high road of distanced professionalism and into a huge, steaming pile of vehemently inappropriate vulgarities. I loathe any government that would spend vast quantities of money to send its people off to war and then wrap the promised rewards with infuriating miles of red tape that lead to not nearly enough educational compensation when all is said and done. That just came out, too!

Attempt #4
I give up. I’m too pissed to write this. The GI Bill was great and then it sucked and now, thanks to Senator James Webb (D-Va.) and Senate Bill 22, it’s getting closer to being okay again (we hope). You’ll have to read about it yourself because clearly I’m not fit to tell you about it:

Senate Passes Expanded GI Bill Despite Bush, McCain Opposition
What the GIs Deserve
Misinformation Clouds the New GI Bill
Best You Can Be Without a Degree
Mr. Bush and the GI Bill
Obama, McCain Tussle Over Veterans Issues
Gauging the New GI Bill
New GI Bill Might Finally Deliver Promise of Paid College for Vets
History is Made: New GI Bill Signed into Law

Posted by Alexa Harrington