As noted earlier on this site, former Queen guitarist Brian May’s earning of a doctorate in atrophysics is an impressive achievement.

The latest news regarding May is not nearly so good, although May himself is not at fault for it. The story reflects an unseemly lack of standards and a vulgar and grasping attachment to our modern-day celebrity cult. The news is that Liverpool John Moores University has named May its next chancellor.

The stated reasons for the move, as reported by Reuters, are entirely unconvincing. The university statement said that the board named May chancellor because of his artistic achievements and academic accomplishments:

in recognition of his contribution to the arts and for encouraging public understanding of science with his book "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe."

The university said it was a tribute to May, 60, that he had gone back to finish his doctorate after leaving his studies in his mid-20s to pursue a career in rock music.

"Not only is Brian an icon in his own sphere but he is a real academic star as well," said the chairman of the university’s board, Sir Malcolm Thornton, in a statement.

"He perfectly embodies the ‘can do’ attitude of LJMU; he is going to be a great Chancellor for the students and a wonderful figurehead for the University."

"Figurehead" is right: a figurehead is an individual who holds a position of apparent power but is actually a catspaw for others. The board member’s forthrightness is obviously unintentional.

The university’s vice chancellor actually had the gall to denigrate the modern-day "celebrity culture," in his words, as if this action were not a vivid example of it.

None of this, however, is to suggest that the university has lowered its standards in naming a former rock musician to the position of chancellor. May’s immediate predecessor in the position, who served from 1999 to 2006, was Cherie Booth—wife of Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of the UK at the time.