The University of Tennessee is expected to award Dolly Parton an honorary doctorate in May. Pending approval of the Board of Trustees, Parton will be only the second person to receive this honor. Former U.S. Senator Howard H. Baker Jr. received a doctorate of humane letters in May 2005. Parton's hometown is Sevierville, Tenn., which is in neighboring Sevier County.
It's interesting that UT has only given this award twice in its history, and the University of Florida gives honorary degrees at least once or twice per year. Visit http://www.president.ufl.edu/hddesc.htm to see a list of all of them.
In other UT news this week, system-wide president John Petersen is resigning. His official resignation date is June 30, 2009, but he's stepping down March 1, so the interim president can take over and deal with budget issues. Petersen will receive $400,000 as part of his severance package. He is UT's fourth president during the past decade.
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