Dr. Shaq Makes Good on a Promise to His Mother

Shaquille O’Neal dropped out of Louisiana State University so that he could play in the National Basketball Association. But he promised his mother that one day he would complete his education.

O’Neal made good on his promise. The four-time NBA champion, 11-time All Star, and most valuable player, earned his bachelor’s degree at LSU in 2000. He then earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix. And this month he was awarded a doctorate in education from Barry University in Miami. O’Neal accumulated a GPA of 3.813 while completing 54 credit hours at Barry, mostly online. His dissertation focused on how business leaders use humor in the workplace.

Here is a video of O’Neal’s graduation ceremony.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

  1. What a great role model for our young men that only vision becoming professional atheletics. There is life after a sports career.

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Oakwood University Wins 2024 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge

The Honda All-Star Challenge is an annual academic competition for students and faculty at historically Black colleges and universities. This year's top finisher, Oakwood University, received a $100,000 grant for their win.

Eight Black Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Positions

Here is this week’s roundup of African Americans who have been appointed to new faculty positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@jbhe.com.

MIT Launches HBCU Science Journalism Fellowship

The new HBCU Science Journalism Fellowship will provide students from Howard University, Hampton University, Florida A&M University, Morgan State University, and North Carolina A&T State University with hands-on training and individualized mentorship to develop their journalistic skills.

Two Black Scholars Named American Economic Association Distinguished Fellows

The American Economic Association has named William Darity Jr. and Margaret Simms as 2024 Distinguished Fellows in recognition of their prominent careers in advancing the field of economics and advocating for economic equality.

Featured Jobs