ASU Official: We'll Consider Giving Obama A Degree When He's Out Of Office

UPDATE: Mike Allen reports:

Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University, tells POLITICO that the school is reconsidering its widely mocked plans not to give President Barack Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at commencement on May 13 and will “honor him in every way possible.”

“There was no intended slight,” Crow said by telephone from his office in Tempe. “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.”

* * *

Arizona State University's decision to not award Barack Obama and honorary degree despite his role delivering the university's commencement address has left a lot of people puzzled and posing questions: Is politics at play? How will this be resolved? Why would the university invite him in the first place?

Well, here, apparently are some answers. A reader sends over a response she received from Emily Dalton Smith, the director of communication at the Office of the Provost.

The university, it seems, has recently decided to stop giving honorary degrees to major donors or sitting politicians. But the best line comes near the end: "We will be delighted to consider him for an honorary degree once he leaves office at the end of his presidency," Dalton Smith writes.

Mind you, they won't give him the degree once his time in office is over. They will "consider him" for it.

Multiple calls and an email to Dalton Smith went unreturned.

HERE IS THE EMAIL:

Dear xxxxxxxxxxxx,

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We have tremendous respect for President Obama, and that is why we invited him to speak at our graduation ceremony. We are honored that he accepted our invitation, and that we will be the first university in the nation to host him for a commencement ceremony.

In recent years, we have determined not to give honorary degrees to sitting politicians or major donors, but to do so based on an individual's body of work. While President Obama has already achieved remarkable success--including becoming the first African-American president--his greatest work is yet to come. We will be delighted to consider him for an honorary degree once he leaves office at the end of his presidency.

Sincerely,

Emily Dalton Smith
Director of Communication
Office of the Provost

Are you an ASU student or alumnus? HuffPost wants to hear from you. What are people saying on campus? As an alumnus, will this effect your decision to donate to your alma mater? Write us at [e-mail].

Comments

[psaltseller]

The custom of rewarding a commencement speaker with an honorary degree may or may not cheapen the degree, but it is a well-established custom. Go to enough events as a keynote speaker or similar purpose and you could paper your walls with the things, but only the ones you earn get hung up.

So Arizona's premier university is wating for Obama to prove himself? Right. And they just now decided that they shouldn't give honorary degrees to sitting politicians? Right. And their compromise is to name a scholarship program for him so he can join such cultural contributors as Hugh Downs? Right.

I would have far more respect for ASU, as well as for the people who keep dreaming up reasons not to go to the commencement at Notre Dame, if they just said "we're not going to honor a black man who got into the White House" and let it go at that.

[BeeOplentee]

Crow is right: it is too early in Obama's career to be handed a freebie degree without proving himself worthy. After his first term-- if he is successful-- he should be awarded the degree with media fanfare.

Way too many people have worked way too hard to earn a coveted degree from ASU. Why should it be cheapened by giving it away?

This brou-hah is overblown; it is by no means a slap in the face of our young president.

[davedave]

the "honorary degree" has been a thank you to the people who gave much to asu.

it was and is unusual to not thank a sitting president who volunteers time to help out with graduation. the oversight was unfortunate and they can't unring the bell.

i graduated asu in 1976. its my school. i'm not pleased.

d

[mmgbizgirl]

that day has passed. keep it.

[JohninPA]

Didn't anyone realize there'd be a price to pay for supporting the Steelers?

[Judyisacutie]

They need to hurry up and make the decision to give him an honorary degree. The longer they drag this out, the more incompetent they make their university look.

[coldwind]

Hey, ASU! Who the hell wants a degree -- honorary or otherwise -- from Arizona State University? You've been a laughingstock for decades.

[taintedone]

Wanna bet that the football and basketball recruitment goes WAY down? This is one of the most retarded moves I have ever seen. All they are giving is an honorary doctorate to a man with a far higher education than they could ever provide. Is it the cost of the paper that is getting them?

[Vige]

By naming a Scholarship Fund after him did they honor him or did they use him?

Did they seize the opportunity to capitalize on his historic record of raising money during the campaign in the hopes to increase their donations to the Scholarship Fund?

I don't buy Mr. Crow's excuse that they were sworn to secrecy therefore could not consult with the committee. If it was so secret how was one of their student journalist able to sniff out that the President would be giving the commencement address and would not be receiving an Honorary Degree? Then came the statements about his body of work is yet to come, their policy of not honoring sitting politicians and then they would consider him at the end of his term. Slap, slap, slap. Whoops, rush to damage control.

You would think a school of higher learning would have convened all parties to discuss what would be appropriate recognition or protocol before they issued the invitation to the President to speak. It doesn't say much for foresighted thinking on the part of those responsible for educating the youth of America.

In the end I have a taste of the disingenuous in my mouth.

[Rockwell]

The more I read about this, the more it sounds like a beauracratic pooch-screw, with the players involved having all the political (or even common) sense of bag of frozen broccoli.

Whoever this Emily Dalton Smith is, she's got to be the most miserable person in Tempe. She's also got to be breathtakingly clueless to have written that smug little memo which in essence says, "Obama's pretty amazing and all but, really, has he earned an honorary degree from ASU? I don't think so!"

And I love Michael Crow's "we are reconsidering" statement. That's a pretty low-key comment for a man who just sh$t enough bricks to fill his office.

[learntofly]

Next time anybody gets an honorary degree from ASU, you know that they'll think - 'What a piece of political garbage this is.'

[Judyisacutie]

They'll think, 'They probably didn't want to give this to me even though I already have a degree from a better school.'

[KillBillV2]

This is HILARIOUS! Everyone and I mean EVERYONE i.e David Gergon, Wolf Blizer, even some republicans were saying how ridiculous for ASU to say Obama wasn't going to be honored YET they want Obama to speak at the University...

they are a joke...

[Judyisacutie]

They're treating Obama like a second class president.

[psaltseller]

So what do you expect from the last state to observe the MLK holiday and a school where the law enforcement program frequently confuses Illegal with Hispanic when talking about border security and ID issues?

[teapartydude]

ASU, Arizona...is there even any black people there? Maybe they never saw any except on the basketball court or Cardinals stadium???

[1differentdrummer]

DWB may still be an offense there, as it is in much of the West. You want provincial? They've got it.

[mad1nola]

Looks like they were considering a scholarship for 1,000 students in President Obama's name. I wonder when they thought that up.

[VOTER]

Too little too late......­..........­..

from here on asu will always be lower case.

[1differentdrummer]

Excellent.

[mek0123]

I hope they make the mistake of NOT honoring our Current President. It will speak volumes of who they really are, and states can not afford to lose any major convention business, but they will effectively screw their own state. The fact that he was the first African-American President of the Harvard Law Review, first African-American President of our country, and is in the process of getting respect of our country back throughout the world? Pleeaaaaaa­sssssseeee­eeeee!! Those are just a spoonful of his accomplishments. He effectively beat his competition to win the popular vote by having a 'grassroots campaign' and 'boots on the ground'! I supported both Bush's when they were in the White House, I supported Clinton when he was in the driver's seat for our country, and I support Obama for the same reason....­........be­cause he's the President of our country, The United States. I wonder how the majority of Arizonians feel about this ASU decision? They should let the University know. I urge you to direct your communications (professionally of course) to Ms. Dalton-Smith, and even cc Mr. Crow, The University President. (They must still be p.o'd that McCain didn't win)

emily.dalt­onsmith@as­u.edu (Director of Communications)

Michael.Cr­[e-mail] (President of ASU)

[roshni]

When I called Crow's office, the mailbox was full. I guess people have been heard.

[suemag]

Could it be sour grapes from McCain's state? Why not ask McCain to speak instead of Obama? Why invite him to speak in the first place if he's not good enough for an honorary degree? I don't get it. It's a slap in the face.

[roshni]

Because McCain will put the students to sleep and Obama is a dynamic speaker?

[Ashamed-in-Texas]

It may very well be that McCain is behind this insult to the President. Can't you see that nasty little smirk on his face?

[suemag]

Could be, but again, why invite him to speak at all?