Is There a Doctor in the House?
I have been asked by fans of Kent Hovind, "Why do you attack Hovind's academic title of Doctor?" Some Hovind supporters even suggest, "Some of the smartest people I know don't have formal qualifications." To counter these concerns we need to separate the issues involved. Is Hovind being criticised for not having formal qualifications? Does Kent Hovind have a valid PhD? How does Hovind use his title? What is the quality of Hovind's thesis?
Is Hovind being criticised for not having formal qualifications?
No. However, Hovind's lack of training does become obvious on some issues.
Does Kent Hovind have a valid PhD?
Yes and no.
Yes, Hovind acquired a religious based PhD in "Christian Education" from Patriot University. "Christian Education" is an evangelism course. Patriot University is an unaccredited correspondence school (note '.com' not '.edu').
No, Hovind's inflated title is invalid because Patriot University is an
unaccredited religious institution. Under Florida State law Hovind can only claim his title if he "clearly
identifies the religious character of the educational program"[1] .
Hovind rarely does so. For example, the promotional material for a debate
video produced by Hovind claims he is "a well-known creation speaker with a PhD in education"
[2]
How does Hovind use his title?
This is where the problem of Hovind's inflated title begins to show. Hovind usually introduces himself by saying, "Hello, my name is Dr Kent Hovind. I taught high school science for 15 years ....." His own promotional material boldly describes him as;
However, Hovind's PhD has nothing to do with either education or science (see above). Hovind never presents a clarification to his audience.
Hovind actively uses the nickname Dr Dino; even using this title for his web site drdino.com. However, Hovind has no qualifications, let alone PhD status, in any field connected with dinosaurs.
"Dr" Hovind will also freely give medical "advice"; such as don't vaccinate your children or apricot seeds (Laetrile) will prevent/cure cancer. Not only does Hovind not have any medical qualifications for giving such "advice", this false authority could kill someone.
What is the quality of Hovind's thesis?
A thesis is a document presenting original research for the purpose of displaying mastery of a field of study to justify the title of "Dr". Because a thesis is valuable original research, as well as justification of title, academic institutions keep thesis' catalogued for reasonable access by anyone. Interestingly, very few people have seen Hovind's thesis because neither Hovind nor Patriot University will release said document for public viewing (which is very unusual).
There is record of only one independent person viewing Hovind's thesis - see The Dissertation Kent Hovind Doesn't Want You to Read
See also Some Questionable Creationist Credentials
In the spirit of fairness, here is Patriot University's defence of their "facilities" and their connection with Kent Hovind
Application form honouring a famous graduate.
(Patriot University no longer uses this application form)
[1] The 2003 Florida Statutes: 817.567 Making false claims of academic degree or title
[2] http://www.drdino.com/Downloads/Debate/vids/index.jsp [April 2004] mirrored at http://www.godrules.net/drdino/debatesonline.htm
[3] http://www.cryptozoologicalrealms.com/english/biographies/bios_h.html [June 2004] "Biographical information provided by Dr. Kent Hovind"
[4] Spoken by Eric Hovind (son of Kent) introducing Seminar Part Four (2003)