Graduate Student Earns 11th Degree

D.P. Rigg
Drew Magazine
Winter 2004

Photo: Prentice E. Whitlock For Prentice E. Whitlock, marching up to receive a degree and congratulatory handshake has become so frequent an activity it can almost be considered a regular exercise regimen.

Whitlock earned a doctor of letters degree this past fall from the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. His preceding academic achievements include an M.Div. ('83) and an S.T.M. ('92) from Drew's Theological School. Impressive, but that's not all of it.

After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy with a B.S. in 1946, Prentice was awarded an A.B. from Wofford College in 1950. He also earned two M.A.s from Columbia, in 1952 and 1961, a Ph.D. from Fordham in 1974, and another M.A. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1980. Between his Drew theology degrees, he squeezed in another Ph.D. from New York University in 1985. He ended an eight-year dry spell in 2000 with an M.M. from Westminster Choir College before moving on to Drew's Doctor of Letters program.

At last count, 30 letters of the alphabet follow his name. If all this academic effort focused on one -- or even two -- disciplines, one would be sufficiently impressed, but his areas of concentration range from military engineering to psychology to education to music to mathematics. He's also an ordained Methodist minister. Oh yes, he intends to apply to the Fordham University School of Law -- and Juilliard. And why not, he's only 81.

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