EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

Arizona State University says it will not bestow an honorary degree on President Barack Obama the esteemed Harvard University Law professor, former U.S. Senator, best-selling author, Grammy Award-winner, and undeniable leader of the free world saying it is not clear that his body of work justifies such an honor.

Obama, who is scheduled to deliver the spring commencement address at the Tempe, Ariz., campus on May 13, will be denied an honor typically given to commencement speakers.

"It's our practice to recognize an individual for his body of work, somebody who's been in their position for a long time," Sharon Keeler, an ASU spokeswoman, told The Associated Press. "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."

The decision is perhaps understandable if one considers the resistance that the state of Arizona had against a Martin Luther King Holiday, but the decision of the six-member academic committee, which has bestowed the honor on much less recognizable individuals, such as Wu Qidi, vice minister of education of the People's Republic of China, has left many scratching their heads.

As Dawn Teo notes this morning in The Huffington Post, "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.''

Ironically, Obama will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Notre Dame when he delivers the commencement speech May 17. It is customary at Notre Dame to confer a degree on every guest speaker, university spokesman Dennis Brown said, noting that the university tries to select speakers who have made significant contributions to society or can give a compelling message. He declined to comment on Arizona State Universitys decision.

"ASU is an outstanding university," Brown said. "Every university has its own traditions and has its own missions. I don't think it's at all fair to gauge one against the other. Everybody's different."

Keeler dismissed the notion that the snub was a presidential dis.

"First of all, they should inquire as to what the university's practice is before making a judgment by what another university might do," Keeler said.

The question for many people is whether President Obama should nix his plans to visit the campus


Does President Obama qualify to get the honorary degree?