"Hardball" host Chris Matthews is getting an honorary degree from Temple University.
The longtime newsman will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree and he is also expected to address graduates at the May 12 commencement ceremony in the Liacouras Center.
"Chris Matthews has distinguished himself as a broadcast journalist, newspaper bureau chief, presidential speechwriter and bestselling author," said President Ann Weaver Hart. “Through it all, he has been an enthusiastic advocate for the city of Philadelphia, its people and its institutions.”
Matthews, who grew up in the area, brought the politics and punditry of his MSNBC show to Temple for a live broadcast last fall, as part of the show's "College Tour" election coverage.
Several Temple students were interviewed during a feedback segment of the show, during which Matthews referred to Temple as “one of the great universities of the Northeast.”
Hart calls Matthews an "enthusiastic advocate for the city of Philadelphia, its people and its institutions."
He is a graduate of La Salle College High School and Holy Cross College, and did graduate work in economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Matthews also served for two years with the U.S. Peace Corps as a trade development advisor in Swaziland, Africa.
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He is married to Kathleen Matthews, executive vice president of Marriott International.
