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From: Dean FH Macy
Organization: New England Talent, Ltd. - Epilogue Records
To: Vocalist
Subject: RE: Buy a doctorate degree
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

My two cents-

There's a Lonnie Brown, Ph.D. out here in my neck of the woods who conduct=
s workshops, does lectures
at local colleges and universities and hangs out his shingle to attract a =
vast number of
'patients.' He is highly publicized as a well educated man and a master o=
f his art. On his walls
are several framed degrees but the largest one is his Ph.D. parchment from=
Columbia Pacific
University. Now I went to Columbia U. in NYC, among others, and according=
to them there is no
accredited Columbia-Pacific U. Upon further inquiry I discovered that CPU=
is a degree mill. You
can buy a Ph.D. from them for $800.

I told my wife about this, since she is one of his followers, and she said=
, "But he is so good at
what he does and how he makes people feel about themselves and he teaches =
us to learn to live with
our failures. He is a great speaker and I could listen to him talk for ho=
urs."

"But his degree is purchased! Don't you care that he is not who he claims=
to be?"

"No," she said. "He's so good at what he does it doesn't matter."

I guess purchasing a degree can be used to make people believe in you when=
you first start out.
After you get their approval it does not matter anymore, as long as you ar=
e a good speaker and have
charisma.

Herewith an attachment, should you be interested-

News Release - Columbia Pacific University Ordered To Close

March 24, 1999: NOTE TO REPORTERS: Columbia Pacific University has fi=
led an appeal of the
preliminary injunction. The California Attorney General's Office responded=
with a request to dismiss
the frivolous appeal.
Although the appeal stays the preliminary injunction, CPU has been op=
erating in California
without the approval required by law since June 1997.

On March 19, 1999, the Alameda Superior Court denied CPU's writ actio=
n requesting that the
court overturn the Council's adoption of the administrative law judge's Ju=
ne 1997 decision denying
CPUs application for approval to operate."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 1999
SACRAMENTO=97The Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Educ=
ation announced today that
the Marin County Superior Court ordered Columbia Pacific University to cea=
se operations and pay
refunds to all students who have attended since June 1997. CPU is a privat=
e institution in Novato
offering distance-learning degree programs from the bachelors through the =
doctorate level.

Private postsecondary schools are regulated by the bureau, which appr=
oves schools to operate
and ensures that training is relevant and practical. The bureau=92s predec=
essor agency, the Council
for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (see timeframe attached=
), conducted a qualitative
review and assessment of CPU=92s degree-granting programs and denied its a=
pplication for licensure.
The council=92s denial was upheld by an independent administrative law jud=
ge on June 10, 1997. Among
other items, the judge found that CPU:

=B7 awarded excessive credit for prior experiential learning to =
many students;
=B7 failed to employ duly qualified faculty; and
=B7 failed to meet various requirements for issuing Ph.D. degree=
s

"California=92s life-long learners deserve the best quality education=
, from preschool through
postsecondary," said California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Ka=
thleen Hamilton. "Diploma
mills that manufacture degrees based on the ability to write a check, rath=
er than the ability to
master curriculum, will no longer make the grade.

Yippee! But I doubt my wife will stop listening to 'Dr.' Brown.

--
Dean FH Macy, Lit.D./Mus.D.
Lit.D. from UCLA the other from Columbia U. (in case you wonder)
- and yes, I paid through the nose for both, a lot more than $800 -
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