President Obama kindly cleared his demanding schedule to serve as the commencement speaker at Arizona State University on May 13 at the Tempe, Arizona, campus. Now, the university is denying the President an honorary doctorate degree, which is typically given to those who address the graduating class, according to the Associated Press.
Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman, said the school usually recognizes individuals who have committed extraordinary work in the world, adding that “his body of work is yet to come. That’s why we’re not recognizing him with a degree at the beginning of his presidency.”
Still it seems that the institution’s officials are contradicting themselves. According to Huffington Post blogger Dawn Teo, “Barry Goldwater received his honorary degree in May 1961, three years before his Republican nomination for president and only eight years into his three decades as a U.S. senator. Sandra Day O’Connor was similarly recognized just three years in her 25 years on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Although President Obama has only been in office for three months and counting we think that becoming the first African-American President of the United States is pretty darn extraordinary among other historical firsts he’s already set.—JW