Chimamanda Adichie receives an 11th honorary degree
The Nigerian author and writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie continue to create history for herself and the home country as she was recently conferred with an honorary degree in Fine Arts by Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) at its 136th Commencement ceremony, June 2019.
Alongside Adichie was the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson; Artist, Theaster Gates and Activist, Nadya Tolokonnikova who were also beneficiary of the honorary degrees while Joseph Chazan was awarded the inaugural President’s Medal of Honor for his tremendous support to the institution.
This recent honorary degree from the RISD becomes Adichie’s 4th honorary degree in the space of one month and an 11th honorary degree from a major international university. Recall that in May 2019, she received three honorary degrees from three American universities within 10 days including Doctor of Humane Letters from the American University (Washington DC, 10th May); Doctor of Humane Letters from Georgetown University (Washington DC, 18th May); Doctor of Letters honorary degree from Yale University (Connecticut, 20th May).
An activist, writer, and thinker Adichie’s voice have helped shape some of the most pressing contemporary issues of our time. Her widely translated works include the award-winning novels “Americanah”, “Half of a Yellow Sun” and “Purple Hibiscus”, along with the book-length essay “We Should All Be Feminists”, which is based on her influential 2012 TED Talk on the same name.
A 2008 MacArthur Fellow, she also happens to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Her most recent book is “Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions” or a “Dear Ijeawele”.
