Taylor Swift to receive honorary doctorate from NYU

New York, March 29 (IANS): Singer Taylor Swift will be awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts by the New York University (NYU), and she will speak at commencement at Yankee Stadium.

Swift will deliver her address and receive her honours from NYU along with the class of 2022 at the stadium on the morning of May 18, reports ‘Variety’.

Three graduating classes will be honoured that day.

Swift will be part of what is described as a “traditional” ceremony for the current graduating class on the morning of May 18. Separately, in the evening, the university will also be holding a “double-header” commencement for the classes of 2020 and 2021, who weren’t able to have a traditional ceremony earlier due to the pandemic..

The official title that will be bestowed on Swift is Doctor of Fine Arts, honouris causa.

Swift has previously been associated with NYU, as the university has conducted a class in her work, although she played no direct role in that particular curriculum.

Disability rights activist Judith Heumann will address the graduates at Yankee Stadium at the evening ceremony. Heumann was featured in the film “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution”, which was nominated for best documentary at last year’s Oscars. She is the author of the 2020 book ‘Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist’ and produces the podcast “The Heumann Perspective”, which features members of the disability community.

Other honorary degree recipients include Lonnie Bunch III, Susan Hockfield, Jill Lepore, and Félix Matos Rodriguez.

“I cannot overstate how thrilled I am to be coming together in person with graduates, parents, faculty and honourees for NYU’s commencement,” said NYU President Andrew Hamilton in a statement. “Since 2019, we have been deprived of commencement’s festive, communal joy, and its absence has been keenly felt. Few groups of graduates are more deserving of a celebration than these classes: their pursuit of their studies disrupted, isolated by a daunting pandemic, these classes-2022, 2021, and 2020-have distinguished themselves with their grit, grace, and forbearance.”

“We reconvene at Yankee Stadium with a renewed sense of appreciation for the act of celebrating together in person, a recognition of our graduates’ enormous achievements, and a respect for their character and perseverance.”