Obama And ASU: Who Has Received An Honorary Degree?

[Wetzelbill]

Obama And ASU: Who Has Received An Honorary Degree?

William P. Carey founded and chaired the real estate investment-banking firm, W.O. Carey & Co. LLC, in New York City. His company owns more than 650 commercial and industrial facilities throughout the world. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment is being a member of a club so exclusive that even the president of the United States remains on the outside looking in.

Carey holds an honorary degree from Arizona State University. He is not an alumnus of the institution. But he has his ties to it. His grandfather played a role in the school's founding and Carey himself has donated prodigiously, including a gift of $50 million for the ASU business college, named in his honor: "The W.P Carey School of Business."

Money may not have played a role in getting Carey his degree. The degree came in 1998 while the donation came in 2003. Regardless, Arizona State University found the New York investment banker's accomplishments of enough merit to bestow upon him the academic title.

The same, it seems, is not true of Barack Obama. Despite giving the commencement address at the university's Tempe campus on May 13, the president will not receive an honorary degree. The reason: "His body of work is yet to come," said Sharon Keeler, a spokeswoman for the university. "That's why we're not recognizing him with a degree at the beginning of his presidency."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/10/who-unlike-obama-actually_n_185546.html

[firedupdem]

1. ASU looks really silly and petty and stupid. n/t

[jillan]

2. You have to understand, the President of ASU is a right wing WACKO, and the school has gone downhill

has been losing $$ since he stepped in.


I am so glad my daughter choose University of Az instead.

[Wetzelbill]

4. Good choice

I moved down here several years ago to go to the U of A. Great place. Is she here now? How does she like it?

[jillan]

12. Loves it.

There is really no comparison imho. ASU is just a bunch of random buildings thrown together.

U of A has a magnificient campus - old, historic red brick buildings.

The plan was for her to go to ASU, but she fell in love with U of A.

Smart girl :)

[DebbieCDC]

3. I thought it was a matter of course that any commencement speaker gets an honorary degree

I've never heard of this before ever. Christ, schools gave shrubshit honorary degrees. WTF???

[Wetzelbill]

5. I thought so too

I wasn't opposed to them giving Bush an honorary degree either, even though I think he's an idiot. They asked him to come speak and the tradition is to give an honorary degree so that's that.

If ASU didn't think Obama was a man of merit, why did they ask him to come speak? Sounds stupid to me.

[Thrill]

6. Just don't go. Don't take this kind of disrespect

[Wetzelbill]

7. He's too big a man for that

In the end, he always makes people look small and petty because he rises above their actions.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

8. He's not speaking for the degree, he's speaking for the people who are graduating.

He earned his own degree. Now other people are earning theirs. Sun rise. Sun set.

[Jane Austin]

9. Good Grief.

Stephen Colbert was awarded an honorary PhD by a college in Memphis.

When did schools get so persnickety?

[Wetzelbill]

11. When they reside in a RW area

and the speaker is a black man who walloped the holy hell out of their favorite senator in a presidential election.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. At least Obama earned a real degree. Even Dubya's "real" degree was more of an honorary degree

"We're honored to have graduated you in exchange for a generous donation"