UDC head defends provost’s credentials

The president of the University of the District of Columbia defends his hiring of a family friend as the school’s new provost by saying she meets a Webster’s dictionary definition of an academic “doctor.”

In a July 17 memo to the school’s Board of Trustees, UDC President William L. Pollard dismissed questions about the credentials of Wilhelmina M. Reuben-Cooke, the new provost and vice president of academic affairs.

In his nine-page memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, Mr. Pollard cites Webster’s II New College Dictionary and writes that “the term ‘doctor’ may be defined as ‘[a] person who has earned the highest academic degree by a college or university in a specialized discipline,’ or ‘the title used to address a person who holds the degree of doctor.’”

“As there is no dispute that Dr. Reuben-Cooke holds a J.D. degree, can there be any legitimate dispute that the J.D. degree is a doctorate degree as required by the published announcement for the position of Provost …?” Mr. Pollard says in the memo. “Logic and reason require the question to be answered in the negative.”

The Times first reported July 11 that Mrs. Reuben-Cooke apparently lacks the experience and education required for the $137,000-a-year job, according to UDC’s national advertisement for provost candidates.

The ad listed the minimum education required as a doctoral degree or its equivalent and the minimum work experience as an established record as a senior academic administrator.

Mrs. Reuben-Cooke holds a juris doctor degree, or law degree, from the University of Michigan Law School and worked for 18 months as an associate dean for academic affairs at the Syracuse University College of Law. The bulk of her professional experience is as a law professor at Syracuse University.

She is the wife of District-based lawyer Edmund Cooke, who helped Mr. Pollard secure his $200,000-a-year post at UDC a year ago.

The school’s faculty and D.C. Council members have criticized the hiring, saying it appears to have been based on cronyism. And the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance is investigating whether Mr. Pollard violated standards of conduct for public officials in hiring her.

Mr. Pollard frequently refers to his appointee as “Dr. Reuben-Cooke” in correspondence with the trustees and in an interview with The Times.

According to Black’s Law Dictionary (Seventh Edition), the juris doctor is “the law degree most commonly conferred by an American law school.” Black’s notes two law degrees more advanced than the J.D. — the LL.M., or the master of laws degree, and the J.S.D., or the doctor of juridical science degree.

A spokeswoman for the American Bar Association (ABA) said a J.D. degree does not bestow upon a lawyer the title “doctor.” She later retracted the statement, saying the association does not have a position on the matter.

A spokesman for Mrs. Reuben-Cooke’s alma mater said her law degree is not equivalent to a doctorate.

“At Michigan, the juris doctor is not the same as a traditional higher-education doctorate degree, such as a Ph.D.,” said David Baum, assistant dean of students for the University of Michigan Law School. “The juris doctorate is a professional degree,” said Mr. Baum, who holds the degree.

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