Why won Arizona State University give President Obama an honorary degree?
Controversy erupted after Arizona State decided against awarding President Barack Obama an honorary degree because “his body of work” does not meet their criteria of “a way to acknowledge people for their contributions to society.” Arizona State claims it has specific rules for recognizing academic achievement, and Obama’s “body of work is yet to come.” The University’s rationale for denying Obama an honorary degree was met with derision, forcing university President Michael Crow to defensively justify the slight. “There was no intended slight,” Crow said at the time. “We had not yet talked about what honors we might give him as our commencement speaker, and we still have a month to work all that out. We don’t want anyone to think we do not recognize what he has achieved and what he means in America.
