88 year old graduates with PhD this Wednesday

An 88 year old former Presbyterian minister has today graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in history from the University of Melbourne. Edwin Lee completed his PhD over eight years, which included time out for two major surgeries, including a quadruple by-pass. Dr Lee's thesis, supervised initially by Dr Paul Nicholls and then by Professor Charles Sowerwine, both formerly of the School of Historical Studies, explored the life and works of author, politician and Canadian Governor-General John Buchan, author of the spy-thriller novel The Thirty-Nine Steps. Professor Sowerwine says Dr Lee showed remarkable commitment, re-working drafts endlessly, despite the difficulties of age and the death of his wife of sixty years during the period of his candidature. 'His contribution to scholarship is the effort to salvage the legacy of a writer who was regarded as a leading conservative thinker in his day, but whose fondness for Hitler and Mussolini led to his neglect after WWII,' Professor Sowerwine said. Both Dr Lee's supervisors participated in the academic procession at the graduation, as did his two daughters, Dorothy and Ruth, both of whom also have PhDs. Dr Lee was inspired "not to be outdone" by his daughters, who at one time thought he had probably "bitten off more than I could chew," he said before the ceremony.