The most embarrassing recipients of an honorary degree

A London university has apologised to China for awarding an honorary degree to the Dalai Lama - even though London Metropolitan University had only given him the PhD in May.

But as honorary degrees go, the Dalai Lama seems rather a good bet (as long as you don't mind offending the Chinese). He joins a whole host of other luminaries who've had the honour bestowed upon them. These range from Gordon Brown (Newcastle University) and Kermit the Frog (Long Island University) to Bob Dylan (St Andrews and Princeton) and Rik Mayall, who received his honorary degree from Exeter University today. Margaret Thatcher, of course, was famously snubbed by Oxford University.

But who do universities wish they had never rewarded? Here are an infamous five...

1) Robert Mugabe
Embarrassed beyond belief, Edinburgh University last year decided to withdraw the degree it awarded in 1984 for services to Africa. Now the University of Massachusetts has followed suit, and withdrawn its award to the Zimbabwean dictator.

2) Kenneth Lay
True, he's not a murderer, but should the University of Missouri be terribly pleased that they honoured the former chairman of Enron?

3) Richard Nixon
He may have been rehabilitated before his death, but let's be honest, he was still on the corrupt side when it came to the internal workings of the Presidency. Did Fordham University regret their decision to honour him?

4) Robert Maxwell
We wonder how proud Aberdeen University now is of its decision to give the late Robert Maxwell an honorary law doctorate. (Apparently he held up the ceremony by taking a phone-call, declaring "For the kind of money I'm giving, they can wait.")

5) Conrad Black
What is is with newspaper men and honorary degrees? This one has them from St Francis Xavier University, McMaster University, Carleton University and the University of Windsor. Mind you, all power to the University of Windsor, who had a request to rescind Black's honorary degree (which was awarded back in 1979) and refused.

Jeremiah Wright didn't even get to have his degree rescinded. Northwestern university withdrew the invitation of an honorary doctorate in sacred theology after all the fuss surrounding Barack Obama's controversial (former) religious leader.

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Comments

[John Lysaght]

Re "spelt" vs "spelled", this is one of several examples where the verb can be treated as weak (taking -ed)or strong (taking -t), both are correct. Another example is dreamt.

[RealEnglish]

vis a vis comments on spelling below: a 'spellchecker' is for Harry Potter et al, or people who need to confirm a period of time.
The correct noun is above, whether used in the abstract (general) or specific sense.
It is equally lazy or babyish refer to the undergarment as a 'sweat' - that is what a
'sweatshirt' absorbs. And this message is not a pole or mail or position, but a 'posting'. And so on...

[RealEnglish]

vis a vis comments on spelling below: a 'spellchecker' is for Harry Potter et al, or people who need to confirm a period of time.
The correct noun is above, whether used in the abstract (general) or specific sense.
It is equally lazy or babyish refer to the undergarment as a 'sweat' - that is what a
'sweatshirt' absorbs. And this message is not a pole or mail or position, but a 'posting'. And so on...

[J Clare]

What has Gordon Brown done for Newcastle? Was the Northern Rock subsidy so long ago? OK, we paid, but he wrote the cheque.

[marke]

Lerts see who gives Sarah Palin a degree...

[J Clare]

What has Gordon Brown done for Newcastle? Was the Northern Rock subsidy so long ago? OK, we paid, but he wrote the cheque.

[sam]

who gives a rats butt?
thats why they call them 'honorary' - so everybody knows they were not earned - just handed out for a sizable donation.
Or in some cases, just to tick off an uncherished political administration - give one to their enemy. These academics can be real mature like that.

[g]

"Honourary is spelt wrong."

while there's discussion about spelling... spelt is a type of wheat... I think the word you were looking for is spelled.

[Liam Foster]

Abraham, what do you know about British spelling. You haven't got a clue!

[Z.Mendas]

I am against giving out any kind of honorary degrees. It is complete frace for universities to give them. It is hard work and requires intellectual ability to complete it and a few years of your life. Remember Michael Douglas getting honorary from St. Andrews University or former governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten getting one from Kingston University? What for really? While an actor gets for making significant financial contribution to development of golf courses at St. Andrews, former governor, who was literally treated like king in Hong Kong, gets it for his contribution to British Empire. Well, he has paid himself enough while in Hong Kong.

[Jennifer La Chapelle]

Spellcheckers drive me crazy. They are either British english or American english. Canadians (who spell some words the British way and other words the American way) have to figure it out for themselves. What about Henry Morgentaler and his honorary degree from Western Ontario.

[Tim]

Has Mugabe just been to specsavers?

[Jim Golightly]

What on earth has Gordon Brown done for Newcastle?

[Firozali A. Mulla DBA]

Just before Blaire left. That is a good news. Or Blaire would have been cooked in theis too.
I thank you
Firozali A. Mulla DBA
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
East Africa

[Dectora]

LMU's only concern is with a potential drop in students from the Republic of China. (It would be a rather different story had they massive applications from Tibet.)Their position is simply venal.

[Paola]

Shame on London Metropolitan University. On the bright side they are less than a pimple on our academic establishment and few even know it exists. Their absurd, PC, unprincipled stance will do nothing to change this.

[Frank Upton]

Kema, it really is 'honorary', even east of the Atlantic. The spelling with a U is common but incorrect. Check with a dictionary.

[Mark Grech]

the University of Malta had given an honorary degree to the then Romanian dictator Caucescu. Difficult to beat that.

[Barrie Redfern]

Yes, it is an honorary degree, although to receive one would be an honour in Britain and an honor in America! I think that's where there's confusion. As a Brit, I also never trust spell checkers as they invariably want to convert my English into American.

[Mark B]

If the photo is anything to go by, perhaps Mugabe received his 'honorary degree' for services to crooning?

[Nick Nicholson]

And then, the arch terrorist Nelson 'Kill them all' Mandela - the one who ordered the deaths of 90 unarmed Zulus using snipers

[Talese]

Kema, use a dictionary before you write.

[Simon Remnant]

I seeem to remember Nicolae Ceauşescu being given an honorary degree by the Polytechnic of Central London (alma mater) in the mid `70s.

[Michael Hamson]

What about one J Clarkson

[abraham]

the spelling of honorary is correct. That how the brits spell it. Kema you got the wrong spelling there

[Mark S]

Nothing beats hard work. If they got it the way the rest of us do, maybe it would not be so evaporative.

feedscrn

[Keith S]

Why give the Dalai Lama an honourary degree?

Like Bush's refusal to boycott attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics because, "The Chinese government would be offended."

The whole point is illustrating how intolerant the Chinese government is in hopes they'll change.

[Stephen Manick]

I dont understand Northwestern University, what did J. Wright say that was so abhorrent? Genocide is a part of the history of most first world nations.

[Kema]

Was this article written by an American? Honourary is spelt wrong.