He Must Now Learn to Fly

With President Obama scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Arizona State University (ASU) on May 13, the school received strong criticism for its decision to not award President Obama with an honorary degree. ASU has instead decided to recognize President Obama by expanding its most important scholarship program and changing its name to the President Barack Obama Scholars Program. According to Emily Dalton, the Director of Communication for the Office of the Provost at ASU, "We will be delighted to consider [President Obama] for an honorary degree once he leaves office at the end of his presidency".

Providing the reason for the school's decision regarding the honorary degree, ASU President Michael Crow stated that "We’re looking for people who have made great accomplishments. It’s a recognition to true contribution to society." (Yes, because African-American presidents are a dime a dozen. At the same time, Douglas Wilder, the nation's first African-American governor, received an honorary degree from ASU in May 2004.) At the same time, this action should not be a huge surprise since Crow has been criticized for his alleged treatment of female and minority students and faculty members. He has been accused of terminating 1/3 of the minority faculty at ASU's West campus without justifiable cause, including a tenured African-American professor despite the fact that a faculty committee recommended the individual be retained. Crow has also refused to answer any questions concerning the amount of African-American professors that the school has granted tenure to during his term.

With that being said, since ASU does not wish to present an honorary degree to President Obama, let's take a look at some of the other recipients who have provided a "true contribution to society".

• May 2006: Wu Qidi, the Vice Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China
• December 2005: Kim Campbell, the former Prime Minister of Canada
• December 2005: Lord John Browne, the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the former Chief Executive of British Petroleum. (Although this occurred after he received his honorary degree, it is important to point out that Browne resigned from BP in May 2007 amidst allegations that he inappropriately used company assets and resources to support his homosexual partner.)
• September 2005: Film director Blake Edwards
• May 2004: Rafael Sostmann, the President of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico

So ever since Crow's term as president at ASU started in July 2002, the school has decided to bestow honorary degrees upon four non-U.S. citizens and the director of seven Pink Panther movies. However, the first African-American president is invited by ASU to serve as the school's commencement speaker but he gets nada. By the way, over the years, the school has also awarded honorary degrees to a sports team owner and various celebrities. But President Obama? Zilch.