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Sequoia University was an unaccredited higher education institution in Los Angeles, California, which acquired a reputation as a prolific "degree mill" selling degree certificates. Although it was shut down in 1984 by a court order, it is most notable today as the institution from which L. Ron Hubbard obtained an honorary "Doctorate of Philosophy" in the 1950s. In 2009, Britain released documents from a California agency stating that Sequoia was never approved nor recognized as a school. British State papers then revealed that in fact Sequoia University was personally owned by Hubbard and that Hubbard had therefore awarded himself his "Ph.D" 〔The Daily Telegraph 6 Aug 2009 "British diplomats compiled evidence 30 years ago that the founder of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard, was a "fraud", according to National Archive papers".〕 ==Ownership and operations== The "university" was said to have originally been known as the College of Drugless Healing, which was traced by the United States government to a residential dwelling on Melrose Avenue. It operated strictly through a post office box and delivered mail-order doctorates without classes or exams.〔Paulette Cooper, ''(The Scandal of Scientology )'', chapter 20. Tower Publications, Inc, 1971〕 The dwelling in question was that of "Dr." Joseph Hough, a chiropodist who had established a profitable business selling bogus medical degrees to applicants. Hough's own doctorate was said to have been bogus, reportedly having been purchased from the unaccredited Free University of Mexico in 1938. He was investigated in 1957 by a California State Assembly investigation into degree mills operating in the state, but took the Fifth Amendment 22 times in the course of his testimony and refused to divulge information about Sequoia's activities.〔"Diploma Witness Won’t Talk", ''Los Angeles Mirror News'', October 23, 1957〕 During a legal crackdown on unaccredited Californian educational institutions in 1984, a Los Angeles judge issued a permanent injunction ordering it to cease operating "until it complies with the state education laws." 〔John B. Bear and Mariah P. Bear, ''Bears' Guide to Earning College Degrees Nontraditionally'', p.331 Ten Speed Press, 2003.〕 At the time it had outlets in both California and Oklahoma, and was still offering degrees in osteopathic medicine, religious studies, hydrotherapy, and physical sciences. Among the affected was the Federal government as evidenced by a citation proclaimed by the United States House of Representatives in hearings held in 1986, in which Sequoia was mentioned as one of a number of degree mills from which Federal employees had bought false credentials.〔"Fraudulent Credentials: Federal Employees", House Select Committee on Aging. Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care, 1986〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sequoia University」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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