Charlie Rose, whose Henderson, North Carolina, accent is perceptible every evening on his eponymous PBS interview program (or pro-gruhm, as Rose says), will receive an honorary degree from Duke University this May, the school announced today.
“As we celebrate the achievements of our graduates, Duke also has a tradition of conferring a small number of honorary degrees at commencement,” Duke president Richard Brodhead says in a release. “These degrees honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions in diverse fields. We lift them up as inspiring examples of how today’s graduates might use their talent and education to make their own contributions to the world.”
Four others are also being recognized with the honor, according to Duke Today. Those are “global health pioneer William Foege; Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey; and mathematician Srinivasa Varadhan.” But none of those people are hardly ever even on TV.
Unlike the other honorary-degree recipients, Rose already has two degrees from Duke: a B.A. in history and a J.D. from the law school.
The commencement ceremony is May 15. Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will be the keynote speaker.
Here is a video of Charlie Rose wearing Cam Newton-inspired Versace pants on CBS This Morning last week:
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Alas, not even those pants could save the Panthers.