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Three decades before he’d campaign to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Rudy Giuliani was receiving an honorary degree from Syracuse University.

Today, Giuliani still has that 1989 honorary doctorate from SU’s College of Law — even as other universities have taken steps to rescind similar degrees in light of Giuliani’s actions throughout his career. 

Records from SU’s Special Collections Research Center show Giuliani received the honorary doctorate at a commencement ceremony for the College of Law on May 21, 1989, at Syracuse’s Landmark Theatre, following his stint as an attorney for the Southern District of New York. In that position, Giuliani earned a reputation as a rising star — cracking down on insider trading and bringing indictments against New York City’s notorious “five families” of organized crime. 

Giuliani also delivered the commencement address during that event. At the time of receiving the honorary doctorate, Giuliani was considered a likely Republican candidate for mayor of New York City, a position he’d ultimately win in 1993. 

An SU spokesperson did not respond before a deadline as to whether the university has considered rescinding Giuliani’s degree and what steps would be necessary to do so.

To grant an honorary degree, the University Senate typically proposes candidates that are granted final approval by the Board of Trustees. It is unclear if the process to rescind a degree would be similar.

So far, at least two universities — Drexel University and Middlebury College — have revoked honorary degrees given to Giuliani, citing his attempts to undermine the 2020 election results. 

Giuliani’s actions “have significantly contributed to undermining the public’s faith in our democratic institutions and in the integrity of our judicial system, and stand in clear opposition to Drexel’s values,” Drexel University wrote in a statement. 

St. John Fisher College in Rochester faced pressure from alumni to rescind their honorary degree to Giuliani, but the college ultimately kept the degree intact after a vote by its Board of Trustees didn’t meet a majority requirement.

Giuliani, following his term as mayor of New York City, returned to SU for another commencement address in May 2002 after his leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had catapulted him to national celebrity status. It was one of only two commencement speeches he’d give that year. Around the same time, Queen Elizabeth II granted him an honorary knighthood, and TIME named him its Person of the Year. 

Despite his wide popularity after the Sept. 11 attacks, Giuliani’s visit incited protests from SU students and faculty at the time. Opponents to the visit were outraged by instances of police brutality carried out in New York City during his term as mayor. 

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They referenced Giuliani’s “stop-and-frisk” policies, which were used disproportionately against Black and Latino New Yorkers, as well as cases like that of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed Guinean immigrant who NYPD officers shot 41 times in the vestibule of his Bronx apartment building. All four officers who fired on Diallo were acquitted. 

“Mayor Giuliani did a very important job in the city of New York in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy. (He) showed far less concern for the loss of innocent Black and Latino life during the other 95 percent of his terms in office,” Winston Grady-Willis, a former professor of African American studies at SU, told The Daily Orange at the time. Grady-Willis is now the director of the Black Studies Program at Skidmore College.

“The former mayor has ushered in a climate of ‘safety’ for some at the expense of too many others,” he said.

In early April 2002, flyers denouncing Giuliani appeared on campus. Students held teach-ins and forums discussing Giuliani’s policies toward policing. In solidarity with the protests, SU’s Student Association passed a resolution entitled “No Giuliani at commencement.” 

Then-SU Chancellor Kenneth Shaw didn’t revoke Giuliani’s invite amid the pressure, praising Giuliani as a “modern-day hero.”  

Other commencement speakers considered that year included comedians Conan O’Brien and Billy Crystal, sportscaster Bob Costas, cyclist Lance Armstrong (later disgraced by his steroid use) and actor Bill Cosby (who was later convicted of sexual assault). 

At the commencement ceremony in the Carrier Dome, several students stood with their backs turned in protest. The university’s African American studies department opted not to participate in the event at all. 

During his speech, Giuliani spoke about the importance of patriotism in the wake of the attacks and the courage of the firefighters who died while rescuing people from the World Trade Center. 

“If you want to succeed in life, there are two things you need. You need a belief, and you need courage. You need to know what you believe in, you need to believe in it strongly,” Giuliani said, according to a transcript of his speech in the SCRC. “If you have both of those things, you’re going to succeed.”

Toward the beginning of his address, Giuliani dismissed the student protests. 

“I would like to thank you very much for inviting me, and the Chancellor in particular who asked me would I be dissuaded by the fact there might be protests,” Giuliani said. “I said actually, ‘no, I would feel at home.’”

After he finished the joke, the crowd of several thousand applauded.

Published on September 29, 2021 at 11:29 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu