Arthur Peter Mutharika, president of the Republic of Malawi and former Washington University professor, was conferred with an honorary degree by Washington University Sunday.

Mutharika officially received the Doctor of Humane Letters during a ceremony in Holmes Lounge attended by students, faculty, alumni and other guests of the University.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

President Arthur Mutharika of the Republic of Malawi speaks to the Washington University
community. Mutharika was honored with a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University.

Mutharika fled political persecution in Malawi and came to the United States to study as a young man. Before he was elected president of Malawi in 2014, Mutharika served as a faculty member at the School of Law for more than 39 years.

“The conferral today has touched me most personally and humbled me the most,” Mutharika said at the ceremony. “When I arrived at this University in 1972, I did not think this moment would come.”

A committee of the board of trustees selected Mutharika to receive the honorary degree. His selection required unanimous approval from the committee.

“In choosing to award an honorary degree, the committee seeks to recognize men and women with distinction, whose scholarly accomplishments, professional achievements or humanitarian service contribute significantly to their field of endeavor,” trustee and Chair of the Honorary Degree Committee Maxine Clark said. “The committee also seeks to recognize outstanding service to Washington University or the St. Louis community and to bring a heightened level of interest and excitement to campus.”

The event honoring Mutharika featured several speakers from the University, including Chancellor Mark Wrighton.

“With this ceremony and this honorary degree, we have the opportunity to recognize and thank both an old friend and a global leader,” Wrighton said. “This is the highest honor the University bestows, and we never do so lightly.”

Sithembile Chithenga, a graduate student in public health at the Brown School of Social Work, is from Malawi and also spoke at the event.

“Coming to Washington University and seeing the high regard in which [Mutharika is] held by [his] former colleagues has been a source of inspiration for me, that someone like me can have an impact around the world,” Chithenga said.

Washington University Trustee John McDonnell spoke about the University’s continued engagement with the international community and of its commitment to projects in Africa, such as the McDonnell International Scholars Academy and the Africa Initiative.

“This event is important in the history of Washington University,” McDonnell said. “We believe that engagement with premier faculty and universities around the world is central to our mission.”

Several students attended the ceremony, including junior Cheryl Mensah, a member of the executive board of the African Students Association (ASA).

“I could not pass up on the opportunity to see such an occasion, so a bunch of us from ASA had to come out here to show our support,” Mensah said. “It was a wonderful event.”

ASA member junior Mashoud Kaba also attended the ceremony.

“I feel like it’s very important that an African person is getting recognized, especially receiving an honorary degree,” Kaba said. “As a student who is an African here at Washington University, I feel like it’s important to show support.”

Oswald Codjoe, a first-year Ph.D. student in political science from Ghana, also went to see Mutharika speak.

“I think the president’s speech brought out a lot of emotions,” Codjoe said. “For a lot of international students, having to travel from their home country to here to get an education and go back is something that most international students, at least in my case, want to do. Of course, he was under a lot more unique circumstances—having to flee from persecution—but the storyline really resonated with me.”

Before becoming president, Mutharika served in both the parliament and the cabinet of Malawi. Mutharika is also the Charles Nagel Professor of International and Comparative Law Emeritus in Washington University’s law school, with expertise in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law.

Mutharika spoke about his success in turning around the economy of Malawi and of the inspiration he found in the United States, especially at Washington University, at the ceremony.

“This University and the St. Louis community gave me a home for 40 years,” Mutharika said. “I’ll always be grateful to this University and this great city.”