There is little more than a month before Joe Biden takes the oath of office as the 46th President of the United States and the Biden Administration already seems to have it's first issue of controversy. As the White House moves through the day-to-day issues around the nation and the world, some people appear stuck on how to address Dr. Jill Biden, future First Lady of the United States.
An editorial in the Wall Street Journal is questioning not the validity of the doctorate Dr. Biden has earned, but the legitimacy of said doctorate. The editorial states, "No one should call himself 'Doctor' unless he has delivered a child." There it is, scientists, surgeons, physicists, and economists. No baby? No doctorate! And while we're on the subject, congratulations to all the police officers, EMT's, first responders, and dads-to-be who didn't make it to the hospital in time. According to the "experts" at the Wall Street Journal, you have earned the right to call yourself "Doctor".
Dr. Biden earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware. From there, she earned two Masters Degrees (Villanova and West Chester Universities). After that, she went back to the University of Delaware where she earned her Doctorate in Education. The University of Delaware is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), and its Chemical Engineering Program and Physical Therapy Graduate Program are ranked in the Top 10.
Close but no cigar for Jill Biden. Undergraduate degree, two masters, and a dissertation on how to help students at the community college level. Admirable but it won't meet the rigorous standards at WSJ. On top of that, "No one should call himself 'Doctor' unless he has delivered a baby." "He". Jill Biden is a "she". Yet another qualification missed out on. And yet, despite all this, Jill Biden is to be addressed as Dr. Biden?
Yes. And she should be.
Dr. Biden went through the proper educational channels to earn her Doctorate. She met the standards put forth by the colleges and universities and the institutions that accredited them. The idea that she should remove the title of "Doctor" from her name because she never delivered a baby can only be described by adjectives and superlatives that I will not write out of proper decorum. If however, the Wall Street Journal wishes to stand by its opinion, can we continue to call those who write for it "Journalists"? If not, do we refer to the Wall Street Journal as a "Newspaper"? Maybe WSJ should stick to finance and economics and stay away from conferring Doctorates and titles.
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