Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously this morning to rescind an honorary degree that was presented 18 years ago to President Robert G. Mugabe of Zimbabwe, the Lansing State Journal reported. In a resolution, the board assailed Mr. Mugabe for his “persistent acts of violence, aggression, and intimidation.”
The president, who helped lead his country to independence and black-majority rule, has since led it to economic ruin and now clings to power on the strength of fixed elections and brutal attacks on opposition leaders.
Michigan State is the third Western university to revoke an honorary degree for Mr. Mugabe. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst did so in June, and the University of Edinburgh did so a year earlier. —Andrew Mytelka
