William P. Carey founded and chaired the real estate
investment-banking firm, W.O. Carey & Co. LLC, in
New York City. His company owns more than 650
commercial and industrial facilities throughout the
world. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment is
being a member of a club so exclusive that even the
president of the United States remains on the outside
looking in.
Carey holds an honorary degree from Arizona State
University. He is not an alumnus of the institution. But
he has his ties to it. His grandfather played a role in
the school's founding and Carey himself has donated
prodigiously, including a gift of $50 million for the ASU
business college, named in his honor: "The W.P
Carey School of Business."
The same, it seems, is not true of Barack Obama.
Despite giving the commencement address at the
university's Tempe campus on May 13, the president
will not receive an honorary degree. The reason: "His
body of work is yet to come," said Sharon Keeler, a
spokeswoman for the university. "That's why we're not
recognizing him with a degree at the beginning of his
presidency."
ASU's decision, announced on Thursday, has already
floored members of the academic, political and media
communities. At once bizarre and insulting, critics are
curious as to what, exactly, a sufficient body of work
resembles under the university's standards. After all,
in addition to being the first African-American elected
to the office of the president in our nation's history,
Obama has served in the United States Senate and
authored two best selling books.
