Dr. Maya Angelou Presented With Honorary Degree by University of Redlands

Posted on March 24, 2011

Author and poet Dr. Maya Angelou became the newest graduate of the University of Redlands when she was presented with an honorary honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by President James R. Appleton and Academic Affairs Vice President David Fite. In presenting the honorary degree to Angelou, President Appleton told her, "Your voice and wisdom have reached across generations and around the world to change the lives of many."

Angelou has authored 12 best-selling books, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiographical account of her youth, and numerous magazine articles that have earned her Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010. Maya Angelou is also a lifetime Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

In her speech Maya Angelou said, "I come to help tear down the walls of ignorance. This University, this Redlands... is a rainbow in the clouds, offering a "chance to let the walls come tumbling down."

Angelou also said, "It was built for that. Supported and founded for that. You are here because you are supposed to learn that."