Biden To Receive Several Honorary Degrees

Biden To Receive Several Honorary Degrees

Arizona State University stunned political observers when it invited President Barack Obama to deliver its commencement address but withheld the usual honorary degree. The fallout was brutal: scads of bad PR plus several alums said they'd withhold donations and even remove endowments from their wills. One alum wrote the Huffington Post to say he wouldn't wear his ASU hat for shame -- in Thailand.

In case anyone was wondering, the vice president will be spared the zero-degree chill when he delivers commencement addresses at Wake Forest University and Syracuse University this spring.

"Vice President Biden's outstanding accomplishments, vision for the future and service to our country make him an ideal candidate for this honor. As a graduate of the College of Law, he has been an example of the 'get connected, stay connected' story of our graduates," says Hannah R. Arterian, dean of the Syracuse law school, in a press release.

Wake Forest's press release notes that while its honoree will be the first sitting vice president to deliver a commencement, "Gerald R. Ford spoke at commencement in 1972, shortly before becoming vice president."

Biden is also speaking at the United States Air Force Academy. Spokespersons for the school were out due to inclement weather.

For much more coverage on the ASU scandal, check out the coverage from HuffPost's Dawn Teo.

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