My position is that the lack of a PhD issue is a legitimate issue among those in academia as the minimum credential needed to enter into academia or serve as administrators in academic domains…such as this Global Institute where senior Profs with PhDs are likely to be subordinates to the director.
In that context, he would be regarded as unqualified…no different than say if I applied for a position of medical doctor or hospital director in which the minimum prereq is an MD degree or corporate executive positions where the MBA is clearly the minimum prereq credential due to company policy or norms within that particular industry.
As for Steven’s challenging him because of his connections with the military…I disagree with Profs like her on that part.