SPH Lecturer Apologizes For Online Degree

An adjunct lecturer at the Harvard School of Public Health (SPH) apologized Wednesday for his “naive and foolish” conduct in passing off as legitimate a mail-order, few-questions-asked doctoral degree.

Ralph Timperi, head of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s infectious disease lab, represented himself as a Ph.D., citing a degree from Trinity Southern University (TSU).

According to its website, TSU does not require a dissertation and rewards diplomas based on prior classes taken at other institutions.

“I briefly used the PhD designation not to mislead, but because I thought I had earned it based on experience and accomplishment,” Ralph Timperi wrote in an e-mail to colleagues.

Timperi says he received information about Trinity Southern University (TSU) via e-mail, and subsequently submitted an application for a doctoral degree, for which he was approved. The charge to Timperi was $499.

TSU’s website—which does not contain any contact information—advertises “No classes to attend, no tests to take!”

The site goes on to note, however, that their doctorate has some limitations.

“A Trinity Southern degree works for 95% of its graduates, however, it is not appropriate for people in the public education field, government or those who wish to use the degree to attend a traditional graduate program,” the site reads.

Though diplomas claim a Dallas, Texas origin, they are mailed from TSU’s offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Timperi, who has been an adjunct lecturer at Harvard for the past three years and has worked at the Massachusetts Department of Health for 40 years, claimed responsibility for his actions in an e-mailed response to questions.

“In hindsight, I should have investigated the program much more closely. It was my error not to do so,” he wrote.

Describing the controversy surrounding Timperi’s diploma as “really quite unique,” SPH spokesperson Robin C. Herman said the school’s concern centers on TSU’s accreditation, or lack thereof.

“The degrees people list on their [curriculum vitae] are from legitimate universities and this particular one it seems is not,” she said yesterday.

While Herman said SPH is not planning any immediate action, she noted that as an adjunct lecturer, Timperi has an annually renewable appointment which expires at the end of the school year.

The case is probably one of “insufficient honesty” rather than “dishonesty and fraud,” according to Patrick Drinan, former president of the Center for Academic Integrity and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego.

Timperi did in fact hold a Ph.D., Drinan pointed out, though it was not from a recognized, accredited university.

Timperi said yesterday that his reasons for obtaining the degree were not disingenuous.

“I never viewed this degree as something that would provide me any special personal stature since it was not an earned degree; but I thought it was meant to be a simple indication of a long career with significant accomplishments,” he said.

Drinan and others suggested that while Timperi’s is an extreme case, it speaks to broader trends throughout higher education.

“Definitely universities are paying a lot of attention to academic credentials,” Drinan said. “The pressure to get a terminal degree in hand is overwhelming.”

Timperi’s brief teaching career at SPH has been noteworthy, according to Herman, who said he teaches “a popular course and he has gotten the highest evaluations from students.”

The School of Public Health’s course evaluation page reports that 100 percent of respondents in Timperi’s “Epidemiologic Analysis of Outbreaks and Infectious Disease” last year said that they were pleased with their decision to have taken the course.

Timperi, too, said he has “thoroughly enjoyed” his time at Harvard, working alongside faculty and students he described as “knowledgeable, studious, intellectually challenging and supportive.”

He said though that, if asked, he would resign from both the Harvard and Department of Health positions.