Posted on 06/02/2003 3:45:48 AM PDT by decimon
HSD official obtained Ph.D. from diploma mill
By Patience Wait and Wilson P. Dizard III Post Newsweek Tech Media
A high-ranking career official in the Homeland Security Department apparently obtained her doctorate from a Wyoming diploma mill.
Laura L. Callahan, now senior director in the office of department CIO Steven Cooper, states on her professional biography that she “holds a Ph.D. in Computer Information Systems from Hamilton University.” Callahan, who is also president of the Association for Federal IRM and a member of the CIO Council, is commonly called by the title “Dr.”
Callahan’s resume says she began her civil service career in 1984. Before joining HSD, she was deputy CIO at the Labor Department.
Hamilton University, according to an Internet search, is located in Evanston, Wyo. It is affiliated with and supported by Faith in the Order of Nature Fellowship Church, also in Evanston. The state of Wyoming does not license Hamilton because it claims a religious exemption. Oregon has identified Hamilton University as a diploma mill unaccredited by any organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Callahan, at post time, could not be reached for comment after repeated calls to her office. Michelle Petrovich, a department spokeswoman, said late Friday afternoon, “We have no reason at this time not to believe Laura Callahan’s credentials, and we will look into the matter.”
Diploma mills and their potential for fraud were the subject of an inquiry by the General Accounting Office at the request of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who now chairs the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. In a November 2002 report, GAO described how it purchased bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Collins’ name from Degrees-R-Us of Las Vegas. It referred the matter to the Federal Trade Commission.
Andrew O’Connell of GAO’s Office of Special Investigations, said of any government employee who purchases a fake diploma, “There’s no doubt in our mind that it’s a scam on the government.”
A search of accredited institutions turned up four colleges and universities with the name Hamilton, in addition to Hamilton University: Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.; Hamilton College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Hamilton Technical College in Davenport, Iowa; and Suwannee-Hamilton Technical Center in Live Oak, Fla. None of the four awards doctoral degrees.
In its printed materials, Hamilton University lists the National Park Service among organizations that employ its degree-holders, or that reimbursed employees who obtained Hamilton degrees.
Hamilton’s material said it provides degrees to individuals who state that their life and work experiences give them qualifications comparable to those of persons who complete academic courses and theses or dissertations to obtain degrees. The bulk of communications between Hamilton and its customers is via e-mails, faxes and postal mail. Calls to Hamilton go to a voice-mail system.
“They bought an old motel and took it apart and furnished it with stucco. It’s very nice,” said Connie Morris, executive assistant at the Evanston, Wyo., Chamber of Commerce. “They are members of the Chamber. They have two or three employees.”
The Oregon Office of Degree Authorization quotes Webster’s Third New International Dictionary on the definition of a diploma mill: An institution of higher education operating without supervision of a state or professional agency and granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or because of the lack of proper standards worthless.
According to a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management, the penalties for providing false or misleading information, including submitting false academic credentials, include termination or other serious disciplinary actions.
“There is no regulation that addresses diploma mills. You are talking about falsification of academic credentials,” the OPM spokesman said.
Lawrence Lorber, a partner with the Washington law firm Proskauer Rose LLP who specializes in labor and employment law, spoke with a reporter about circumstances matching Callahan’s claim to a Ph.D., though he specifically asked not to be told of the person or federal departments involved.
“There is something called resume fraud, which this would be considered,” Lorber said. “It’s what it sounds like—not the embellishment, but a fraudulent addition that indicates a job or degree.”
It is the accreditation of the program—or lack thereof—that becomes important, Lorber said. “By listing it [on your resume] you are creating the presumption that it’s from an accredited, recognized institution.”
Hamilton University’s enrollment application and enrollment invitation spell out the simple requirements for students who wish to obtain a Ph.D.:
* $3,600, payable up front by bank draft or personal check only. Hamilton does not accept credit cards.
* Completing one course at home on “personal, business and professional ethics.” Hamilton provides the course workbook, and the student must complete the open-book examination that is included. The school’s materials state the course and test require an average of five to eight hours to complete.
* Writing one paper relevant to the area in which the Ph.D. is being sought. The minimum length for the paper is 2,000 words, or roughly four pages, and will “be referred to as a dissertation,” the materials say.
In return, Hamilton promises to deliver “an official diploma in a leather bound holder… of the highest possible quality and carry[ing] the official raised seal of the university.” The organization promises that the “diplomas granted by Hamilton University do not reflect how the degree requirements were met (traditionally or externally).”
Because prospective employers often want to verify a candidate’s education, Hamilton also promises to provide verification of degrees, once the person provides authorization to release the information.
In this case, for instance, when asked via e-mail to verify Callahan’s Ph.D., the registrar’s office of Hamilton University replied, “All requests for degree verification must be made in writing and must be accompanied by an authorization signed by the graduate.”
But Hamilton promises that when it provides transcripts, they will look like real transcripts, even providing numbers, titles and grades for courses the student did not take, because their requirement was waived due to life or work experience. The transcripts will not say the courses were waived, and the grade average shown for an entire transcript will be based on the grades for the at-home test and the dissertation.
A person identifying himself as Dr. R.G. Marn, faculty adviser, said the institution’s privacy policies prevented it from releasing records. He declined to comment on whether Hamilton University is a diploma mill.
(Posted May 30, 2003 - 5:50 p.m. Updated May 31, 11:20 a.m.)
A crime has been committed. Are you suggesting that it not be prosecuted?
Anyone who would give them a "free pass" is as bad as the Clintons.
I'm suggesting that the crime, if there is indeed a crime, will not be prosecuted.
Are you suggesting that the Bushites not prosecuting this crime be prosecuted for the crime of not prosecuting this crime?
Agreed. And they are as bad as the Clintons for selling out the American people and ignoring their constitutional duty to hear ALL the evidence of Clinton's crimes.
Third time: A crime has been committed. Are you suggesting that it not be prosecuted?
I don't respond to demands, kid.
The real scandal here is that nobody in the gubmint personnel chain recognized the degree as obviously bogus.
http://www.isworld.org/isprograms/phd/PhDalphabetic.asp
I don’t think that Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) knows what she stepped in just yet.
Indeed; it seems we are the only people on the planet who seem to have a clue about her connection to the Clinton WH e-mail scandal.
With a bit of luck, this will blow up in their faces.
Post Newsweek Tech Media reporters confirmed today that, in addition to the doctorate, Laura Callahan, senior director in the office of CIO Steve Cooper at HSD, said on her official resume that she obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hamilton University. According to the resume, she earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1993, her master’s in computer science in 1995, and a Ph.D. in computer information systems in 2000. In March 2000, when Callahan was subpoenaed to appear before the House Government Reform Committee on breakdowns in the White House e-mail system, she testified under oath that she was “a graduate of Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J.” She did not mention the two Hamilton degrees. The alumni office at the New Jersey college confirmed that Callahan obtained a two-year associate’s degree in 1992; her major was liberal arts/general.
Interesting that her entire IT academic backround appears to be fabricated around bogus degrees from Hamilton. It is equally fascinating that when under oath, she avoided mentioning her "degrees" from Hamilton, and only cited her 2-year school.
The question is when will this be referred to the Justice department, and will they have the balls to persue it so that justice is done.
Decimon ran away No I didn't Bravely ran away I never When logic reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled.
According to the resume, she earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1993, her master’s in computer science in 1995, and a Ph.D. in computer information systems in 2000.
In March 2000, when Callahan was subpoenaed to appear before the House Government Reform Committee on breakdowns in the White House e-mail system, she testified under oath that she was “a graduate of Thomas Edison State College in Trenton, N.J.” She did not mention the two Hamilton degrees.
The alumni office at the New Jersey college confirmed that Callahan obtained a two-year associate’s degree in 1992; her major was liberal arts/general.
And how the hell, did she get where she is ?
I suppose that's a question for the ages. Either she performed well, which says that degrees don't mean that much, or she performed poorly, and no one would do anything about it.
This would make a great case study in an accredited MBA program. ;)
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