Tom Petty will be posthumously conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of Florida.
The UF School of Music will confer the honorary Doctor of Music degree to the multiple Grammy winner at the Spring 2023 Doctoral Ceremony to be held on Thursday.
A member of the Petty family will accept the posthumous honorary degree on his behalf.
A virtual livestream of the UF Spring Doctoral Ceremony will be broadcast beginning at 9:30 a.m.
“It is so incredible for everyone in the family that UF is honoring our dad in his hometown this way,” said the late rocker’s daughter, Adria Petty. “He loved the Gators, and he loved Gainesville. He always talked about wanting a doctorate from UF and he would have been totally blown away by all this.”
“It is an added gift that we can give something back and provide much-needed resources to underserved communities in Gainesville. It is near and dear to our entire Petty family,” she added.
The Petty family recently announced a $100,000 donation to establish the Tom Petty Endowment for Guitars & Innovation in the UF College of the Arts.
It will be used to expand the School of Music’s Guitar program, as well as the new Music Business & Entrepreneurship program.
In addition to the UF doctoral ceremony on May 4, UF College of the Arts will also honor Petty at the college’s separate College of the Arts Spring 2023 Recognition Ceremony.
(Art credit: Shepard Fairey; Photo credit: Mark Seliger. Image provided courtesy of the Tom Petty family)
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