Will Syracuse University Rescind Rudy Giuliani’s Honorary Degree?

Syracuse University is considering whether it should rescind the honorary degree it awarded to former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani in 1989 when he spoke at the commencement exercises at the university’s College of Law. According to The Daily Orange, the independent student newspaper at Syracuse, Chancellor Kent Syverud has already discussed the potential action with the University’s Board of Trustees.

In April, the Syracuse University Student Association sent a resolution to the ​​University Senate recommending that the university rescind Giuliani’s honorary doctorate from Syracuse University’s College of Law. The University Senate passed the resolution calling on the Board of Trustees to revoke the degree, with 76% voting in favor, 11% opposing and 13% abstaining.

Leaders of the Student Bar Association (SBA) at Syracuse have also called for the degree to be rescinded. “When he received his honorary degree back in 1989, he might have portrayed the values or initiatives of the school then,” said Mazzy Kaila, executive president of SBA, last November. “I don’t think there’s any room for that now.”

Both the University of Rhode Island and Middlebury College have already revoked the honorary degrees they awarded to Giuliani, citing his leading role in the campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and other instances of misconduct.

Drexel University also rescinded an honorary degree it gave to Giuliani, claiming that “the totality of Mr. Giuliani’s recent actions, which have led to the suspension of his license to practice law, include repeated unfounded claims of widespread election fraud, have significantly contributed to undermining the public’s faith in our democratic institutions and in the integrity of our judicial system, and stand in clear opposition to Drexel’s values.”

But Syracuse is among the universities that have yet to revoke honorary degrees conferred to the former mayor, who has recently been named as a target of a criminal investigation into election interference in Georgia.

According to the Daily Orange’s reporting, Syverud said the board has debated whether to rescind the degree, and has asked him to look into how Syracuse’s peer institutions revoke honorary degrees and recommend a standard procedure for the university to follow.

Syverud is expected to present his draft recommendation to the board at the executive committee meeting in September. He indicated that the full board will likely vote on the matter in November.

Should the Board of Trustees vote to rescind Giuliani’s honorary degree, it would be the first time in its history that Syracuse University has taken such an action.