A few months after he entered the White House in 2009, President Obama gave a commencement speech at Arizona State University. It was his first as commander in chief, but that is not what made the event so memorable. Although nearly all commencement speakers at colleges and universities nationwide are awarded honorary degrees — even, for example, two deli owners in Ann Arbor, Mich., who spoke at the 2015 University of Michigan graduation and received honorary doctor of law degrees — the powers that be at ASU decided not to give one to Obama.

May 16, 2016 ・ From The Washington Post