The Rewards of Scholarship

It has been posited that with higher education increasingly available to more people than ever before, there are a growing number of people graduating with Masters' degrees and Doctorates than there are positions to absorb them. That with a weak economy and a slow job market too many university graduates are forced to absorb employment that bears little resemblance to their qualifications.

Indeed, to have even that lowly employment, they must shield their educational attainments from the scrutiny of potential employers, else they're deemed out of hand to be unsuitable for clerical or service jobs due to 'over-qualification'. It is a disheartening situation, to say the least. At one time someone with a post-secondary education was viewed with great respect; that educational achiever had many options to choose from.

Now that there are so many university graduates, all looking for that ideal job that will lead them to a life-long trajectory of elite positions reflective of their knowledge and professionalism - a dream realized - there are too many candidates for too few available positions. Not the least bit fair, but that too is reality. In fact, because there are so many highly educated job candidates, they are no longer valued unless they are truly exceptional.

One such exceptional mind was that of a child prodigy turned intellectual master of mathematics, Gabor Lukacs. He attained his doctorate at a truly early age, and became a math professor at the age of 24. He is imbued with the spirit of scholarship and high performance standards; demanding no less of others than he does of himself, and vice versa.

That kind of rigorous scholastic standard can get someone in trouble, in these days when all levels of educational achievement have been dumbed down to have compassion on those whose genetic endowment in the cerebral department has not been as generous as others. Professor Lukacs has been suspended for the sin of mounting a protest against the awarding of a doctorate to an undeserving student.

A young man who appealed to a university administrator to overrule a panel of academic experts who found him wanting, and would have denied him his doctorate. His appeal was successful and the young man was awarded a PhD despite that he failed to meet the formal requirements, claiming an anxiety disorder rendered him incapable of performing well under test conditions.

The dean of graduate studies at the University of Manitoba recommended an oral exam for the young man despite the rejection of other math professors. And despite that one math professor resigned from the granting committee over the dispute, Professor Doering decided to waive the examination altogether. And although the student hadn't completed the graduate courses, he was granted his PhD.

That might be considered totally absurd; although special assistance is often given to students with medical disorders, this situation went above and beyond that kindly protocol. The result is the campus is conflicted over the situation, with both students and staff taking opposing views. The 'winner' is the quasi-student who was granted his unearned degree.

The 'loser' might seem to be Professor Lukacs, for he has been suspended for three months without pay, for insubordination in insisting that the university's decision be overruled, and taking legal action to effect that change. On the other hand, Professor Lukacs stands on principle, one that cannot be argued away.

The 'loser' is the system of higher education which has an obligation to present itself as an trustworthy and capable learning environment, guiding students to fulfill their educational obligations so they may capably and with honour claim their rewards; due recognition and earned certification.

For this university and this department of the university, a polarizing situation has erupted and a tarnished reputation can be claimed.