Chimamanda to receive 16th Honorary PhD from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium

Louvain, Belgium – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will receive an honorary doctorate degree from the Catholic University of Louvain on April 28th, 2022.

The ceremony will take place at the main campus in Louvain-la-Neuve, located 20 kilometers from Brussels.

Founded by Pope Martin V in 1425, the Catholic University of Louvain, often abbreviated as UCLouvain, is one of the oldest Catholic universities in Europe and the biggest French-speaking university in Belgium.

It has campuses spread across six locations in Belgium while playing host to 15 schools and faculties. The school’s most famous alumni include mathematician Vitold Belevich and Queen Mathilde of Belgium.

Rector of the University, Vincent Blondel, stated that the Academic Council considers Adichie’s work to be “remarkable in many ways and particularly inspiring for our university community.”

He also added that Adichie embodies the “values that we wish to impart to our students, professors, researchers, and the entire university community. For the new academic year, the university is highlighting the theme, ‘The fragility of truth.’ Adichie’s career, divided between fiction and the reality of struggles against all kinds of oppression, adequately illustrates this theme.”

This honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain will be Adichie’s 16th honorary doctorate degree. She has received honorary degrees from some of the world’s best universities including Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Edinburgh, Duke University, Georgetown University, and Johns Hopkins University.