Shaquille O'Neal Earned His Doctorate This Weekend
NBA legend and star of the 1996 film Kazaam Shaquille O'Neal received his doctoral degree in education this weekend from Barry University, a private Catholic school located in Miami.
Dr. O'Neal, 40, earned his doctorate in Organizational Learning and Leadership with a specialization in Human Resource Development. He took most of his classes online and through video conferencing, because, c'mon, Shaquille O'Neal has better things to do.
He completed 54 credits over the course of four and a half years, graduating with a GPA of 3.813.
His dissertation was titled: "How Leaders Utilize Humor or Seriousness in Leadership Styles."
According to The Palm Beach Post Shaq describes his own leadership style as "70 percent humorous, 30 percent serious."
Before he became Barry's most famous student ever (evereverever), O'Neal attended Louisiana State University as an undergrad, but left his junior year (1992) when he was drafted by the NBA. He completed his LSU coursework in 2000, via distance-learning courses. He later got a Master's degree from the University of Phoenix online.
Up next for O'Neal is a role in Adam Sandler's film Grown Ups 2, which will likely consist of humor that has been diluted so that it comprises only about 40 or even 30 percent of the final mixture.
O'Neal also told the Palm Beach Post that he is considering law school or a doctorate in psychology.
Here's a fun anecdote from Saturday's ceremony:
After department chair David M. Kopp placed a light blue graduation hood around his neck, Shaq, who is 7'1, responded by lifting his professor up "like Tarzan was rescuing Jane" to loud cheers from the crowd.
70 percent humor.
Classic Dr. Shaq.
[Miami Herald // Image by Dianna McDougall, Source Photo via Getty]