Neosoul songstress, Jill Scott, can now officially add doctor to her list of accomplishments. At her alma mater, Temple University, Scott was bestowed with the title Doctor of Humane Letters. Scott is the first from the university to receive a degree from Temple of this magnitude, she had to drop out of the school’s secondary education program because of financial constraints.
Temple President Neil D. Theobald addressed the decision to honor Scott in an interview with Essence, saying that her “values and achievements embody the mission and ideas of the university.” Those achievements, beyond a successful music career, include the founding of Blues Babe Foundation, which helps low-income students in the area pay for college.
Fellow honorary doctor Bill Cosby introduced Scott to an audience of excited graduates. In her speech, Scott encouraged graduates to continue striving to be “soldiers of light.”
Check out more photos in the gallery below. –joi pearson @joiapearson
