Lehigh Faculty Votes To Rescind Trump's Honorary Degree

BETHLEHEM, PA — Eighty percent of Lehigh University teaching staff want the university's board to rescind the honorary degree awarded to Donald Trump, according to recent reports. The degree was awarded to Trump 30 years ago, according to PhillyVoice.

The Lehigh University Board of Trustees initially received a 30,000-signature petition on Change.org in August 2017 calling for the degree to be rescinded. After the landslide vote to revoke the degree, the board is now considering the faculty's request.

"In his own words, statements made by President Trump do not meet Lehigh’s standards for respectful discourse where differences of opinion exist," the motion read. In true academic fashion, the faculty cited their sources. Nearly three pages of Trump quotes serve as the faculty's evidence that the president's statements violate Lehigh's standards for professional discourse.

Trump's call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States made the faculty's list of unacceptable quotes, alongside a quote from the infamous Billy Bush tape and his words about his daughter, Ivanka, about whom he said "Yeah, she's really something, and what a beauty, that one. If I weren't happily married and, ya know, her father..."

"If a member of Lehigh’s on-campus community made one of these statements, he/she would be subject to disciplinary action; taken in their entirety, he/she would be at risk of dismissal," the motion read.

Fourteen percent of faculty who voted on the motion disagreed with the idea of rescinding Trump's honorary degree.

Lehigh University rescinded Bill Cosby's 1987 honorary degree in October 2015 after a swell of sexual assault allegations against the actor and comedian, according to the Voice.

Trump received the honorary degree as he was the 1988 commencement speaker. Lehigh spokesperson Lori Friedman told CNN that it was customary to award commencement speakers with honorary degrees.

Dr. Michael Raposa, who helped to draft the motion, told CNN that the school's faculty members "don't want Lehigh to be identified with the kind of sexist, racist, and Islamophobic utterances."

Raposa noted that the motion's purpose is not to censure the president for his political views, but the vote "clearly articulated the voice of the faculty," CNN reported.

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