3 of 4

Write now Article Tools

While President Obama may be looking forward to delivering the commencement address on May 13th at Arizona State University, one thing that he will be unable to look forward to is receiving an honorary degree from the university, an honor typically bestowed upon commencement speakers at most institutions of higher learning.

ASU has stated that the reason they will not bestow the honorary degree upon the President is because "it is the school's practice to recognize an individual for his body of work, somebody who has been in their position for a long time," said a school spokes person.

Arizona State has stated that they feel that the Presidents' body of work is yet to come; they feel that the president is still early in his presidency and bestowing an honorary degree upon him would be premature.

Other Universities such as Notre Dame, where President Obama is scheduled to deliver the commencement address on May 17th and is scheduled to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree, have commented that it is customary to confer a degree on every guest speaker. Of course, no two universities are the same; every institution has its own set of policies, procedures and traditions.

Some might wonder why an institution of higher learning would select a commencement speaker whom it didn't feel was worthy of an honorary degree in the first place? It seems that when selecting a key note speaker the university would review the accomplishments and the body of work that the guest speaker has acquired thus far and make a decision at that time whether that person was someone that the university felt was deserving of such an honor and responsibility.

While those in the media may be making a big deal over ASU's decision, it is unlikely that President Obama is going to take the news too hard. The president is delivering 3 commencement speeches over the course of about a week. He will begin with Arizona State on May 13th and then travel to Notre Dame to deliver their commencement speech on May 17th, finally wrapping things up at the United States Naval Academy on May 22nd.

While some may criticize Arizona State for their decision not to bestow an honorary degree upon President Obama, ultimately it is the universities decision. The school has to do what it feels comfortable with.

With just over 3 months under his belt, the President is fairing well in the polls, seems to have the support of a large percentage of American's behind him and has managed to survive his first few months in office without any major blunders. So maybe the president won't receive an honorary degree from Arizona State; you can't win them all can you?

Learn more about this author, S. L. Wheeler.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Why won't Arizona State University give President Obama an honorary degree??
We want to hear your view. Write now!