Area Native, Emmy Winner, Receives Honorary Degree

England’s University of Oxford conferred honorary degrees on a number of individuals at the end of June, including two Americans. Billie Jean King, a former number one world tennis player received the accolade as well as Piedmont, West Virginia native Henry Louis Gates, Jr.  Gates is known for his PBS Show, “Finding Your Roots” and is also a literary scholar He is the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English. Honorary degree recipients are recognized for their distinction in their field or service to society.