Respect or reward? UCF honorary doctorates get stricter rules

Abraham Pizam is the founding dean (2000-2018) of Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida.

UCF professor Abe Pizam’s extensive career includes running the school’s hospitality school from 2000 to 2018 as its first-ever dean.

Last year, Pizam received another major award: An honorary doctoral degree from the University of Central Florida. It’s the same award that UCF has previously given to former President Bill Clinton, NBA star turned activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the wife of a sitting UCF president.

But Pizam’s honorary degree sparked a complaint, and since then, UCF has tightened the rules for who can claim the school’s prestigious honor.

The policy that took effect in April now bans UCF employees and their immediate family members from receiving honorary degrees. Elected or appointed officials currently holding office in the state or federal government are also no longer eligible to receive them.

The new policy also puts into writing that UCF school trustees can take away someone’s honorary degree if the recipient’s behavior is a “significant deviation” from the UCF Creed and Mission or if the person lied on his honorary degree nomination materials.

“What UCF is doing is starting down a road that it really does need to travel,” said Michael Poliakoff, who is president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “Schools that give honorary degrees without a carefully thought-out policy in writing are really on a collision course.”

Poliakoff called the commencement ceremony “a very public moment for the institution.” Giving out honorary degrees should reflect a school’s identity. “What kind of institution are we? What are our values?” he said.

“The optics are problematic when it looks like an honorary degree is being given as a kind of reward,” Poliakoff said when asked about why UCF added the stricter rules. “Why not wait until after a person leaves office? Then one avoids an appearance that will automatically raise questions. The university needs to always keep in mind that it’s a public institution supported to serve the public, and it’s accountable to the public.”

Besides Pizam, the most recent honorary degrees at UCF went to a school lobbyist in 2019 and a UCF alum who helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021.

Martha Halsted Hitt received an honorary Doctor of Public Service in May 2018, before her husband, then UCF President John Hitt, retired on June 30, 2018.

Poliakoff spoke about how he hoped an honorary doctorate doesn’t devalue the earned doctoral degree that some students spent years working toward. He scoffed at Southampton College infamously awarding an honorary degree to Kermit the Frog. (The famous frog received a doctorate in amphibious letters.)

In February, UCF received a complaint from an unnamed employee over Pizam’s honorary degree. The complainant accused the university of giving Pizam an honorary doctorate as a consolation prize when Pizam didn’t receive a prestigious faculty award.

“The explanation for his (honorary degree) in 2021 was not transparent and should be published to the community and UCF,” said the complaint filed on Feb. 20. “The university community does not have a clear understanding of the criteria that determine an award that is usually reserved for outside constituents.”

A university investigation later ruled the school hadn’t improperly awarded Pizam the honorary doctorate of commercial science and followed the proper procedures in place.

Interim UCF President Thad Seymour nominated Pizam for an honorary degree and a school committee voted on it and approved it in spring 2020. The report said that the investigation “found no evidence that members were swayed or felt pressure to vote for Dr. Pizam.”

When reached for comment, Pizam pointed out the school decided to give him an honorary degree in the first place, and it was also the school’s decision to update its policy.

“All I can say is that I am honored and delighted that the university has acknowledged my achievements,” Pizam wrote in an email when asked what the honorary degree meant to him.

Pizam, who has a Ph.D. from Cornell University, “is widely known in the field of Hospitality and Tourism Management and has conducted research projects, lectured, and served as a consultant in more than 30 countries,” according to his UCF biography. Pizam “has authored more than 250 publications, of which 180 were scientific publications and published 10 books.”

Less than two months after getting the complaint against Pizam, UCF officially enacted the new policy.

“The development of the new policy was led by the UCF Faculty Senate’s Commencements, Convocations and Recognition Committee,” school spokesman Chad Binette said, adding work to update the policy began in 2020.

“Subcommittee members reviewed best practices from universities around the country, including within the State University System of Florida, and they recommended some updates. One example is that in light of situations that had occurred with revoking honorary degrees at other universities around the country, the committee wanted to establish clear guidelines for how that would be handled at UCF. They also noted that many other universities did not allow current employees or elected officials to be eligible for honorary degrees,” Binette said.

For instance, at the University of Florida, both school employees and state and federal officials are not eligible for honorary degrees.

“Because the University of Florida is a public university and part of the State University System, the university’s policy is that elected or appointed officials of the State of Florida or the Federal Government to whom the university is directly or indirectly answerable are ineligible for honorary degrees,” the UF policy read, adding honorary degrees “are not given lightly, and relatively few are awarded.”

At UCF, anyone can nominate candidates for an honorary degree. After getting approval from the Commencements, Convocations and Recognition Committee, the nominations go before the UCF president, who makes recommendations to school trustees. The trustees have the sole authority over who receives a degree.

“Aside from the earned doctoral degree, the honorary doctoral degree is the highest recognition awarded by the university,” UCF’s new policy said. “It is an award for eminent and outstanding achievement and service to the university, the state, the nation, and the world. The achievement may be scholastic in nature, or it may be evidenced in public service.”