Elon Musk’s mother receives honorary doctorate for contribution to nutrition research
Elon Musk’s mother Maye Musk, on Thursday (April 13), received an Honorary Doctorate in Dietetics from a university in South Africa for her exemplary contribution to nutrition research. Dr Musk took to Twitter to thank the University of the Free State and spoke about how she had dedicated her adult life to research and promotion of dieticians calling it “the best recognition ever”.
“Thank you the University of the Free State for honoring me with the Doctor of Dietetics. After dedicating my adult life to nutrition research and the promotion of dietitians, this is the best recognition ever! This ceremony brought me to tears. It was not my plan, but it is the peak of my achievements,” said Dr Musk.
The South African university, on its Twitter account, also gave excerpts of Dr Musk’s speech on their Bloemfontein Campus. “This was so unexpected. Thank you very much for this honour. My children are very proud of me. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It has been wonderful experiences in Bloemfontein and at Kovsies, everybody was great. Thank you,” said Dr Musk, as per the UFS.
The 75-year-old, Maye Musk is a registered dietitian and is known to have written the registration exams in three countries and has been practising in the field for more than four and a half decades. The university, on their Twitter account, also said Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, said “honorary doctorates are bestowed upon individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to a particular field or society.”
It added that the awardees are chosen for their generous and altruistic actions or lifetime accomplishments that benefit a community, nation, or humanity in general and that Dr Musk has met these criteria and is a ‘worthy recipient’ of the honorary doctorate. Dr Musk was also the guest of honour at the event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the UFS Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, which was established in 1983, said UFS, in a statement.
