Dr. Fauci To Deliver Hofstra Commencement Address, Get Honorary Degree

HEMPSTEAD, NY — Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, will deliver a commencement address at Hofstra University.

Fauci will give the mid-year speech to students on Dec. 21, Newsday reported.

With more than four decades as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institutes of Health before retiring in 2022, Fauci will also get an honorary degree from Hofstra.

"His illustrious career in research and public service has had a global impact and will be an inspiration to the new graduates of Hofstra University," President Susan Poser said in a statement.

While Fauci worked for presidents dating back to Ronald Reagan, and diseases that included AIDS and the ebola virus, it was his regular news conferences and interviews when Donald Trump was president that propelled him into celebrity status.