What is a Knight Professor?

So I'm reading this article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?_r=3&ref=magazine&oref=slogin by Michael Pollan at the New York Times because it's a letter he wrote to Obama about the importance of FOOD Policy.

Pollan is obviously one of the "experts" we'd never dare to challenge, as can readily be seen in his articles and books. But, he's also described as the "Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley." http://journalism.berkeley.edu/faculty/pollan/

I didn't have any more time to spend on this.. did only a few keyword searches and decided to put it up here. The reason I care is because I have made the comment before that academic titles replaced the "Titles of Nobility" FORBIDDEN in in the U.S. Constitution.

And one of the other guys who has this title is "Jack M. Balkin (born August 13, 1956, in Kansas City, Missouri) is the Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. Balkin is the founder and director of the Yale Information Society Project (ISP)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Balkin. Notice wiki has no definition of Knight Professor.

Is a Knight Professor a Title of Nobility, someone who has been Knighted by the Queen of England? If it is, then how bloody perfect to give it to someone who specializes in U.S. constitutional law. Especally telling is Balkin's interest in "The Information Society Project (ISP) at Yale Law School is an intellectual center studying the implications of the Internet and new information technologies for law and society.'"

Heh, here's a proposed amendment that never passed:

If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain, any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.^{[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titles_of_Nobility_Amendment}

And the ONLY place Knight is mentioned under wiki's Titles of Nobility page is under DAME:

Dame (The French term of respect Madame came from the same root. The masculine equivalent of a Dame is a Knight, although a Knight uses the title Sir rather than Knight before his name. Some knights, such as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter or Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, place their full title after their name) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title

I sure don't know much about about nobility and titles, as much Tudor history as I read as a young woman, I admit I was always unconcerned because I was confused by what a Baron or a Count was. but obviously Knight isn't a hereditary title. In fact it's so insignificant it doesn't even get it's own description. hmmm... should I look up Knight's Templar? :)

%There ain't nothin' like a dame!"%