Dr JB Lim’s Views on Degree Scroll & Professor Title

The blogger finds the views of his most learned e-buddy Dr JB Lim on the above two subjects as contained in his emails to his e-buddies very interesting as well as informative.  These are reproduced as follows to share with readers of this blog.

(1)  On Degree Scroll

Why do you want to see a video of Aung San Suu Kyi receiving her PhD scroll? The University of Oxford can always send it to her by post. She has far too many papers and credentials to carry during her hurricane tours. She probably was already been conferred the doctorate earlier.

In one of the videos of her delivering her belated Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo, the President at the ceremony told her that they did not have any gold medal to give her then. Probably she already received her Nobel Prize earlier.

I too have never personally received any of my university degree scrolls, not even my higher and more esteemed Fellowships from the Royal Society of Medicine, and the Royal Society of Public Heath, both in London.

In fact I was supposed to go to London to sign my name into the Rolls of Fellows for them to formally admit me into their prestigious Royal Societies. But I never did. Yet I still remain a Royal Fellow with regular correspondences from them for conferences, electronic access to medical libraries, and monthly scientific and clinical meetings.

They cannot strike my name out because I did not go to London to formally sign in my name. I am entitled to remain admitted as enshrined under the Powers of the British Royal Charters.

I also told the Universities of Calcutta, London, Cambridge, Reading to send all my certificates from Bachelor’s, Postgraduate Diploma, and Master’s to Doctorates by postal mail.

I have never once attended any convocation or wore an academic gown or a mortar. Instead I wear a T-shirt most of time even for international scientific conferences over the years here in Kuala Lumpur.

The instant I sat for my final examinations, and submitted my thesis to these universities, I took the earliest plane back, not wishing to go back. I must have been quite confident, but I was far more home-sick. I have too many luggages to carry alone.

But some of the universities did not even trust me if I would be the rightful recipient when I return to Malaysia. So they sent my degree certificates to their Embassy in Kuala Lumpur instead, and instructed me to collect it there with proper identifications. Quite smart of them.

You might call it ‘I have never been formally graduated’ if you wish.

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(2)  On The Title Professor

The title Professor is a very prestigious academic title that can only be bestowed on a very learned individual only by a university where a person is teaching. He has to be very senior in position and must be the Head or holds the Chair of a University Department. At least this is in universities in the UK and United States where I was.

Professor in UK Universities and Professor in Malaysia are worlds apart:

Here in Malaysia a lot of people call themselves ‘professor’ even though they are academically not fit to be one. Many of them have very low academic standards, some don’t even have a basic degree, yet they call themselves ‘professor’.

Even a bright Form 6 student has knowledge far better than some of these ‘professors’. I have a lot of experiences with these ‘professors’ whenever I was asked to chair a scientific session in a conference where these local professors present their papers. They were very boring to me with their academic standard. Their standard was simply atrocious, but I was very patient as a Chairman at the conference.

Obsessions with titles:

As I said a lot of people in this country like to be called a professor even though they are not fit to be one. In British universities where I graduated it is so hard to become a professor even most of them were like walking encyclopedias. Most of them amaze me with their academic knowledge at London, Cambridge, at Reading Universities and in MIT.

All I know is that anyone given this university academic title must be very senior in position, and has contributed enormously to the advancement of knowledge through lots of research and publications.

Furthermore, this title is removed from them once that person leaves the university. He can no longer use the title Professor before his name once he leaves the university where he held the Chair of an academic department. It is not as easy as that.

Sensitive issue to many people:

A title before a name of a person is a very sensitive thing to some people. They get angry if you don’t address them properly. They just want their titles printed before their names, and they also do this for themselves.

Qualifications behind far more important than titles in front:

I am more concerned about a person’s qualifications after his name, rather than putting all those titles before their names. All these titles in front do not mean anything to me. I have been taught by world renowned real professors who never even bother with their titles.