Cat awarded honorary doctirate

[Ancient Fellow]

Cute cat. Reprehensible decision.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13433173/vermont-state-university-castleton-cat-honorary-doctorate.html

[methodsman]

Cute cat. Reprehensible decision.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13433173/vermont-state-university-castleton-cat-honorary-doctorate.html

Well aren't you just a bucket of good vibes.

[Puget]

Oh lighten up, it's a bit of fun.

That cat has a good thing going -- a whole campus providing pets on demand.

[Ruralguy]

All four of my cats deserved one. Smart kitties.

[Parasaurolophus]

Seems like a better recipient than most, really. And not likely to disgrace himself.

[Wahoo Redux]

Silly, but it achieved the purpose of getting a bit of coverage.  Now I hope the beast doesn't get hit by a car.

[Ancient Fellow]

Considering the sacrifices made by post grads and their families to earn a doctorate, especially in the midst of such a terrible economy and job market, I think the university's granting a doctorate to a friendly cat is remarkably tone-deaf.

Tell you what - Make the cat an Honorary Overpaid Administrator instead and I'll revisit my response.

[sinenomine]

You're responding as though this is an actual doctorate, rather than a feel-good story. Take a deep breath and smile!

[ab_grp]

Seems like a better recipient than most, really. And not likely to disgrace himself.

I agree! Sounds like he's been a valuable member of the community and has contributed quite a bit to the student experience.  And I don't think that anyone else will be grumbling about having been the one to truly deserve to be awarded a doctorate in litter-ature from the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Cat-leges.

[secundem_artem]

We had a dog at convocation yesterday.  We missed the opportunity to confer a Dog-ter of Canine Letters.

I'll see myself out.....

[Parasaurolophus]

Considering the sacrifices made by post grads and their families to earn a doctorate, especially in the midst of such a terrible economy and job market, I think the university's granting a doctorate to a friendly cat is remarkably tone-deaf.

I don't know that that's substantively different from most other honorary doctorate recipients, though. Here, the default is just some civil servant who's done nothing more than their job for thirty years.

[apl68]

I thought the default was usually somebody who had given the institution several million dollars.

I can't work up any outrage over the silly story myself.  Perhaps younger me, still deeply distressed at washing out of grad school, would have felt different.  It took a long time to get past the bitterness of that experience.

[Parasaurolophus]

I thought the default was usually somebody who had given the institution several million dollars.

Maybe down south. That doesn't happen much here. Certainly not often enough for all the honorary doctorates awarded!

[Wahoo Redux]

I thought the default was usually somebody who had given the institution several million dollars.

Maybe down south. That doesn't happen much here. Certainly not often enough for all the honorary doctorates awarded!

Ward Churchill received an honorary doctorate from Alfred University and then commenced to call himself "doctor" publicly and professionally.  I'd rather the cat get a doctorate.

[secundem_artem]

Considering the sacrifices made by post grads and their families to earn a doctorate, especially in the midst of such a terrible economy and job market, I think the university's granting a doctorate to a friendly cat is remarkably tone-deaf.

I don't know that that's substantively different from most other honorary doctorate recipients, though. Here, the default is just some civil servant who's done nothing more than their job for thirty years.

I thought that's how you get an MBE.