James C. Kennedy: USC's Next Honorary Degree Recipient

With the end of the academic year approaching and commencement looming as picture to the left, the notion of receiving a degree is steadily becoming a reality to many hard working students. At the same time, most universities also extend honorary degrees to accomplished individuals. At my school, the University of Southern California, honorary degrees are given "[t]o honor individuals who have distinguished themselves through extraordinary achievements in scholarship, the professions, or other creative activities, whether or not they are widely know by the general public." I decided for this post I would find someone in my intended field of public relations who is deserving of an honorary degree from USC. While the intentions of the honorary degree are commendable, the outcomes do not always reflect the initial objectives. According to James Freedman, president emeritus of the University of Iowa and Dartmouth College, the standards have changed and the “purpose of honoring distinguished personal achievement has been widely modified [. . .] to flatter generous donors and prospective benefactors.” They have often been transformed into “trivialized” awards for “mere celebrities—who are often famous principally for being famous.” With this stigma in mind, I searched and found a company CEO, James C. Kennedy, who deserves a Doctors of Human Letters for being an outstanding citizen.

This would not be the first time a Doctors of Human Letters went to a newspaper person; Herbert G. Klein, retired vice president and editor-in-chief of Copley Newspapers, received the award in May of 2006. Being a successful CEO of a major communications company who was strong roots in newspaper, radio, and television, Kennedy, seen to the right, has had tremendous success in the fields of journalism and communications, and done it all in an admirable manner. He is the grandson of former Ohio governor and Cox Enterprises founder, James M. Cox. He graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Kennedy’s career began with Cox when he worked for the Atlanta newspapers in 1972. Sixteen years later in 1988, Kennedy was named chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprise. He held various positions before becoming CEO including publisher, vice president of Cox Newspapers, and executive vice president of Cox Enterprises. Kennedy was clearly prepared to take the role of chairman and CEO after he spent numerous years preparing for the position. I think it is enduring that he went to school considering the popular trend of prominent businessmens’ offspring to not value the work that was done to create the life they have. It would have been easy for him to skip college and still have a pleasant job at his grandfather’s company. Instead Kennedy got an education, started his job at an entry level position, and worked his way up. Once Kennedy was in charge the company flourished. From the years of 1988 to 20002, Kennedy increased the company’s revenues from 1.8 billion to 9.9 billion; and the Cox Enterprises' companies are all list among the top ten in their fields.

Similar to Tommy Trojan, Kennedy is a very skillful man. If the success he has brought to his corporation is not enough evidence that he deserves the honorary degree then the awards Kennedy and his company have received should be another reason. James C. Kennedy himself was named to the J. Mark Robison College of Business’ Hall of Fame in 2004 for his achievements with Cox Enterprises. In March, Cox Communications, one of Cox Enterprises' companies, placed twenty-five out of the top fifty diverse companies on DiversityInc’s diversity list. Obtaining a position within this esteemed group was competitive, and Cox's placement of twenty-fifth is very impressive considering three hundred and seventeen companies fought to acquire a spot on the list. The grounds for this award mirror one of the core values of the corporation, which is commitment “to having a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.” Not only does Cox Enterprises set ambitious goals for their companies, but they live up to them too.

The USC Honorary Degree acknowledges "...exceptional acts of philanthrophy," and Cox Enterprises' recent charitable donation reveals that Kennedy is deserving of the award. Cox Enterprises donated six million dollars to the on going development of the Newseum, which is going to be a museum that “will offer visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits.” Within the Newseum, the First Amendment Gallery at the left will be named after Cox Enterprises. It is only fitting that Cox Enterprises contribution will go to the promotion of and education about the First Amendment because Cox Enterprises’ businesses are strongly affected by its liberties, such as freedom of speech . Some critics could argue that the gallery being named after Cox could expose a promotional and selfish act to gain more publicity, but Kennedy has never been a person to use his position is life for fame, and I believe he in not going to start now.

James C. Kennedy would be an exceptional honorary degree recipient, and he would delivery a fascinating speech to the graduating class. He believes "there are so many new opportunities coming along..most exciting time to get a new business." During the speech, he could educate about the future of communications and technology because of his many successful companies, and reiterate the importance of the past by reminding everyone about the First Amendment and the Newseum. Kennedy embodies the values established by USC and Tommy Trojan.