Toby Keith will posthumously receive an honorary degree from the University of Oklahoma, located in the late country legend’s home state.
“Toby was an avid OU sports fan and longtime donor,” reads the caption on a post on Keith’s Instagram account announcing his honorary degree. The “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” star will be honored at the University of Oklahoma commencement ceremony next month.
The University of Oklahoma announced the “four outstanding individuals” who will receive honorary degrees this year. Others include educator, economist and activist Barbara Ann Posey Jones, founder of Love’s Travel Stops and university supporter Tom E. Love, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient for his work on Apollo 11 and Apollo 13 spacecraft missions David Proctor, according to a press release posted by the University of Oklahoma earlier this week.
“Through their exceptional talents, transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to serving others, each of this year’s Honorary Degree recipients has left an indelible mark on the world,” University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. said in a statement. “Their profound dedication has touched countless lives, and we take great pride in conferring the university’s highest honor upon them.”
Keith “passed peacefully last night on Feb. 5 surrounded by his family,” following a years-long battle with stomach cancer that he fought “with grace and courage,” per a statement posted to the singer-songwriter’s social media pages the early morning hours of February 6. He was 62. The Songwriters Hall of Famer and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee was honored in tributes across the country music community, including Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Terri Clark, Zach Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Luke Combs, Darius Rucker, Jake Owen and many others. His children, who represented him at the 2024 CMT Music Awards earlier this month, remembered him as their “hero.”