Rhiannon Giddens and Emmylou Harris will receive honorary degrees from the University of North Carolina Greensboro during the 2020 Commencement ceremony at Greensboro Coliseum on May 8. Both Nonesuch artists attended the university. Honorary degrees are given in recognition of extraordinary achievement over a scholarly or artistic career or for a lifetime of distinguished public service.

"We are so proud to honor Rhiannon Giddens and Emmylou Harris not only for their amazing accomplishments and the indelible impact they have had on music, but for the way they have embodied UNC Greensboro’s motto of service,” said Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. “Rhiannon and Emmylou serve as an inspiration to the vast array of students who find their way to UNCG with high hopes and bold aspirations. They serve as role models for what can be achieved through hard work, tenacity, and a willingness to fearlessly pursue your passions. I hope that all of our students at UNCG will follow their example as they begin their own journeys and chase their own dreams.”

Rhiannon Giddens, who was born and raised in Greensboro, will star as Bess in Greensboro Opera's production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess this November 13 and 15. She discussed the opera on a recent episode of Aria Code, the Metropolitan Opera and WQXR podcast of which she is host; you can hear that here.

Emmylou Harris gives a sold-out performance at UNCG Auditorium tonight. Born in Alabama, she spent her childhood in North Carolina and Virginia and studied at UNCG on a drama scholarship.

Previous Honorary Degree awardees include artist, philanthropist, and UNCG alumnus William Mangum; research pioneer Dr. Maunuskshi Wani; former Ambassador to Finland and businesswoman Bonnie McElveen-Hunter; NC Poet Laureate Fred Chappell; NC Chief Justice Henry Frye; former NC Governor Jim Hunt; and author Maya Angelou.