Candidate’s H-Bomb Questioned

Chris Wakim, a Republican congressional candidate in West Virginia, has been accused of misrepresenting his degree from the Harvard Extension School as a degree from one of the University’s other, more selective schools.

Until recently, Wakim’s campaign website listed him as having earned a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard in 1991.

But according to The Hill, he only earned a Masters of Liberal Arts (ALM) degree with a concentration in government from the Extension School. A Masters in Public Policy (MPP), however, is granted only by the highly selective Kennedy School of Government.

His website now states that he earned a masters degree from Harvard, but it does not specify which school granted the degree.

Wakim responded strongly to the charges against his academic record, calling the charges a “despicable attack on my honor” launched by incumbent Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, D-W.V. “and his Democratic cronies.”

“I earned my master’s degree from Harvard University at night while serving my country as an active duty infantry officer during the day,” Wakim said. In fact, he also wrote his thesis on troop preparedness.

The Extension School, a division of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, has an open admission policy and accepts all students who meet certain criteria. The Kennedy School’s selective MPP program admits only about one in four of its applicants.

The MPP degree also requires far more courses than the ALM degree, taking up two years of full-time study. In addition to eight core courses, the Kennedy School of Government requires MPP candidates to finish 10 electives and take part in a practical “policy exercise.” The ALM degree requires a total of 10 courses and no policy exercise.

In addition to the challenge to his academic credentials, Wakim has also been accused of misrepresenting his military record. His website states that he is a “Gulf War veteran.”

Since Wakim did not see combat, Joe Davis, the spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told The Hill that Wakim is more accurately described as a “Gulf War-era veteran.”

Wakim responded that “during the Persian Gulf War, I served as an active duty infantry officer and, according to the law, that makes me a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.”

He went on to attack Mollohan, saying that the attacks were “a dirty political smoke screen” meant to divert attention from the congressman’s own record.

Mollohan has been accused of misrepresenting his assets on financial disclosure forms and of using federal earmarks to steer money toward businesses from which he stood to gain financially.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.