Arkansas Online

University: Flynn honorary degree stands

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — The University of Rhode Island has decided not to revoke an honorary degree bestowed upon Michael Flynn, an alumnus who briefly served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser and who has remained an ardent supporter of the former president since Trump’s election loss.

University President David Dooley will not forward a recommendation to the board of trustees regarding Flynn’s honorary degree, a school spokesman told The Providence Journal.

Dooley had asked the school’s honorary degree committee to discuss Flynn’s honor, bestowed in 2014. The committee sent a recommendation to Dooley for his consideration. That recommendation will not be made public, school spokesperson Linda Acciardo said.

The university had expressed disappointment in Flynn, who graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1981, after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017.

At the time, the university said the Rhode Island native and a retired Army lieutenant general’s actions did not reflect the university’s values or its “expectations of people in public service.”

Flynn was pardoned by Trump last year. He served as Trump’s national security adviser in the early weeks of 2017 before resigning after reports that he misled Trump officials about his contacts with Russia.

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2021-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/281676847879968

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