UT Honors Dolly Parton with Honorary Doctorate

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, will give East Tennessee native and acclaimed musician Dolly Parton an honorary doctorate degree at the College of Arts and Sciences commencement exercise. Governor Phil Bredesen will join acting UT President Jan Simek and Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek for the commencement, which will take place at 9 a.m., Friday, May 8, at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The formal degree of a doctorate of humane and musical letters will be conferred to honor Parton for her dedication to education, young people, lifelong learning and significant service to the state and its people. Parton will deliver an inspirational address to the graduates in her own special way.

Due to a tremendous response, we regret that we will be unable to accommodate admission from the general public at the College of Arts and Sciences commencement. UT’s first priority is to accommodate the college’s graduates and their families and guests. The ceremony can be viewed live at the University Center and via the Web.

“Because of her career not just as a musician and entertainer, but for her role as a cultural ambassador, philanthropist and lifelong advocate for education, it is fitting that Dolly be honored with an honorary degree from the flagship educational institution of her home state,” said Cheek.

The only other recipient of an honorary degree from the UT Knoxville campus was former U.S. Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., who received a doctorate of humane letters in May 2005.   

"It is an incredible honor for me to receive this degree from a prestigious university like UT. I've been a volunteer all my life and entertained folks around the world with 'Rocky Top,'" Parton joked. "Seriously, education and the arts are very important to me, and this degree is something that makes me, and would have made my parents, very proud."

Parton's philanthropic work has centered on the importance of reading and education in the lives of children. In 1996, she founded the Imagination Library program in Sevier County, which provides children with a new age-appropriate book every month from birth to 5 years of age. That program serves 1,000 communities in 47 states, the United Kingdom and Canada, including all 95 counties in Tennessee through a partnership with the Governor's Books from Birth Foundation. By mid-2009, the Dollywood Foundation will have distributed more than 20 million books.

Parton also has provided incentives for graduation and college scholarships for area students for more than 30 years. This effort has provided many students with opportunities beyond high school and a chance for a college education.

Among Parton’s numerous achievements are the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service from the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress, membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Grand Ole Opry, along with seven Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards and two Oscar nominations.