UCF to honor NBA legend Abdul-Jabbar with degree

Legendary basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is set to become a UCF Knight.

School trustees on Friday approved awarding the basketball Hall of Famer turned social and political activist an honorary doctoral degree in public service.

“Mr. Abdul-Jabbar is a highly recognized sports legend and a renowned social justice advocate,” wrote Foard Jones, chair of UCF’s commencements, convocations and recognitions committee, to school president John Hitt in a Jan. 25 letter.

The school doesn’t know if Abdul-Jabbar will come to campus to accept the honor, said UCF spokesman Chad Binette.

The NBA legend has ties to UCF.

As a teenager, he went to summer camp and befriended Richard Lapchick, who defended him when someone called him a racial slur. Lapchick went on to lead UCF’s DeVos Sport Business Management program, and the two have stayed close ever since, according to the school.

In other action, the university trustees agreed to name the main academic building in the downtown Orlando campus after Dr. Phillips Charities, which pledged $7 million toward the project.

The 148,000-square-foot, $60 million building would be called Dr. Phillips Academic Commons.

The building is “the heart of the campus that UCF will share with Valencia College,” according to a news release sent out by the university this week. “As an academic anchor, the building will have collaborative learning space, classrooms and space for educational and community events.”

UCF announced last week it will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony in May to kick off construction this summer as the campus is scheduled to open in August 2019.

Also Thursday, UCF trustees created four new degrees — bachelor degrees in nonprofit management and environmental sciences and doctorates in big data analytics and integrative anthropological sciences. The doctorate degrees require the state’s approval.