The Queen of Soul is now Dr. Aretha Franklin. Harvard University awarded Franklin an honorary doctorate degree of arts on Thursday. After singing the National Anthem, Franklin received her degree alongside former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President George H. W. Bush, and five others.
Franklin’s Harvard degree is the latest accomplishment in her illustrious five-decade career. Franklin, 72, was the first ever woman inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. With 18 Grammy Awards, the Memphis-born entertainer started singing gospel at the age of 14. She later transitioned to secular music, and has become one of music’s most legendary singer, songwriters, and pianists. Franklin is best known for her rendition of Otis Redding‘s “Respect,” an anthem for female empowerment. Franklin received The Kennedy Center Honors in 1994 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Harvard isn’t the first Ivy League college to honor the singer. Franklin also received an honorary doctorate of music from Princeton in 2012.