University of Maryland Baltimore County President Freeman A. Hrabowski III added an honorary degree from Harvard to his list of awards on Thursday morning, hailing it as recognition of his university's profound strides in the academic world. "The respect our colleagues at Harvard have for UMBC as a research university is clear," he said. In bestowing the degree, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust praised Hrabowski as "a galvanic force in his university's ascent." Among those who shared the honor and the stage with Hrabowski? Actress Meryl Streep.

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