A board of U.S. Air Force Academy graduates that was expected to vote Friday on whether to extend an honorary degree and honorary membership into the academy’s alumni association to slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk withdrew both of the motions.
In a statement late Friday, the Association of Graduates, which serves as the academy’s nonprofit alumni group, said its board of directors dropped the motions after hearing the past two days from “several hundred” Air Force Academy graduates, parents and other family members about the idea to recognize Kirk.
The board met in Colorado Springs on Friday afternoon to consider the measures.
“We are grateful to all who have taken the time to reach out by phone and email, and to those who attended today’s meeting in person, to share their views,” the Association of Graduates said in its statement shared with Military Times. “The AOG Board, serving as the governing body of the Association, took the thoughtful feedback received into account. The Honorary Member and honorary degree motions concerning Mr. Kirk were withdrawn.”
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According to the meeting agenda, the motions to honor Kirk were proposed by retired Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop, who was elected to the board of directors earlier this year. In making the recommendation, Bishop noted Kirk’s “faith, family, so much love for our country and the vision of our Founding Fathers.”
President Donald Trump appointed Kirk in March to join the academy’s Board of Visitors, a group that meets several times a year to provide advice on issues including curriculum, student morale and academic methods.
Kirk, co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, attended one Board of Visitors meeting Aug. 7 before he was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Some academy graduates spoke out publicly against the notion to honor Kirk with a posthumous degree and alumni membership. Retired Brig. Gen. Marty France, a former board member with the alumni group and the former head of the academy’s Department of Astronautics, told Military Times that people previously inducted as honorary members “each served USAFA for decades.”
“Whatever service [Kirk] provided to USAFA does not rise anywhere near what we should require as a minimum before even considering him for such mention,” France added.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
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