Oprah Winfrey has acquired many titles over the years; visionary, mogul, humanitarian, billionaire. Now, Winfrey can add the title of doctor to that list after receiving an honorary doctorate degree in education on June 23, from the University of the Free State in South Africa.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the school, which boasts 30,000 students, pulled out all of the stops for Winfrey, staging a grand ceremony in their quiet farming town of Bloemfontein that drew attention from international media outlets.
Winfrey, dressed in a formal cap and gown, was visibly moved by the school’s gesture, even crying during the prestigious ceremony for one. And while Winfrey shed tears of gratitude, the school shared their appreciation for the mogul, explaining in a passage accompanying her doctorate that through her humanitarian efforts, she had become one of them – a “Kovsie.”
“[Winfrey] has truly become a South African, She did so because she believed that there was important work to be done here, and she wanted to be part of what Nelson Mandela and others had begun.”
Although last week’s ceremony marked a moment of prestige and honor for the university, five years ago, the school was roiled by racial unrest. In 2006, four white students were caught humiliating black housekeeping staff when they videotaped themselves forcing the staffers to ingest urine-spiked stew to protest the integration of the historically white school.
After the scandal broke, Winfrey reached out to Jonathan Jansen, who became the university’s first black rector in 2009 and faced public criticism after asking for the forgiveness and rehabilitation of the four students. After Winfrey agreed to speak at the school, the school decided to honor her with a doctorate.
In front of an audience of 4,000, Winfrey accepted her degree and called five housekeepers to the stage and proclaimed them heroes.
“What has happened here at Free State in terms of racial reconciliation, of peace, of harmony, of one heart understanding and opening itself to another heart, is nothing short of a miracle,” she said. “It is truly what the new South Africa is all about.”
Congratulations, Dr. Oprah Winfrey. –nicholas robinson
