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Anouar Majid, Ph.D., �ᰮ�Թ� vice president of Global Affairs and Communications, was quoted in an article Al-Fanar Media, a news outlet specializing in academics in the Arab world. The article, titled, “Academics Uneasy �ᰮ�Թ� Honorary Degrees for Rulers,” discussed the controversy over awarding degrees as gifts to political leaders.

Last year, Egyptian King Salman bin Abdulaziz received an honorary doctorate from Cairo University. Majid stated, “On the one hand, it’s risky to offer honorary degrees to politicians and heads of state because it could send the wrong message that universities support the politics of the recipient. On the other hand, a politician may deserve recognition for supporting an educational or cultural program.”

“Conferring an honorary degree is like naming a building after a donor—he may turn out to have engaged in illegal practices and the university would have to consider removing his name from it,” he said. “In any case, honorary degrees are symbolic; they don’t indicate credit for academic work.”

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