Weird column. Essentially, this prof thinks academia is like a medieval cloister, and only those PhD holders who have never worked in the outside world, and have followed the high school - BA -MA- PhD -Postdoc - tenure track - tenure career route are true academics. Potter was qualified for his job. He holds a PhD. He has been published in the academic press.  He has also managed a large group of people in a very high-profile job.