Shaquille O’Neal Becomes Receives Doctorate Degree

While much of the world refers to NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal
simply as “Shaq,” the towering 7-foot-1 former basketball center will
soon have a new moniker: Dr. O’Neal.

Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla., will award O’Neal a doctorate
in education this weekend after more than four years of graduate school
work, including one-on-one class sessions O’Neal arranged to have as he
traveled around the country, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The former L.A. Lakers and Miami Heat champion successfully defended
his dissertation at the Roman Catholic university earlier this month
after completing 16 courses, 54 credit hours, and finishing with a 3.8
GPA.

The soon-to-be Dr. O’Neal, Ed.D, concentrated in Organizational
Learning and Leadership, and wrote a dissertation, complete with an oral
and video project, titled, “How Leaders Utilize Humor or Seriousness in
Leadership Roles.”

“He was a good student,” Dr. David M. Kopp, chairman of the
university’s Organizational Learning and Leadership program, told the
South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He is very intellectually curious. He is
like a sponge, he takes everything in.”

O’Neal, 40, will walk in the weekend graduation ceremonies with 1,100
other students at the James L. Knight International Center in Miami,
according to the report.

Barry University and a representative for O’Neal did not respond to calls for comment.