Jimmy Carter is usually the one getting honorary degrees and major awards. But on Saturday in Macon, it was the former president who turned the tables and helped Mercer University award an honorary degree to rocker Gregg Allman.
A video of the event shows Carter, 91, beaming as he helped to drape the white “hood” signifying an honorary doctorate of humanities over the black graduation robe worn by an uncharacteristically shy-looking Allman (see it at www.macon.com). The 68-year-old Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer-songwriter periodically fiddled with his long blonde ponytail as Mercer’s president revealed he was only the third musician to receive the honor in the 183-year history of the college.
