Many graduates have spent at least four years exploring the campus before receiving their degrees.
Six-year-old Tabby Max is no exception. He’s a Doctor of Literature now, though.
He has been coming to the Castleton campus of Vermont State University ever since his owner, Ashley Dow, started allowing him to leave the house, which is a short walk from the college.
The “very affectionate” Max is typically the first to greet him in the morning and would even come into the admissions office in the winter, according to Maurice Ouimet, the school’s dean of admissions and enrollment services.
“The rest of his daily routine really revolves around where our students are at,” Ouimet stated.
“So, he’ll frequently head up the hill and park himself outside one of our main academic buildings so as students come and go from class, he’ll oftentimes just be sitting on the wall.”
According to Dow, Max has no problem climbing all over the children. “So he’ll get up and get on their backpacks and they’ll walk around and everybody’s doing selfies,” Dow said.
Ouimet remarked, “I would say he’s a charismatic cat because he just brings people to him.” Max frequently returns the favor by “standing up and purring” for onlookers.
Additionally, Ouimet notes that Max welcomes guests who come for school tours and that the tabby “feels like he has a job to do in welcoming people to the campus.”
Max graduated from the institution at a critical juncture in its history. Following the merging of Castleton University, Northern Vermont University, and Vermont Technical College, the 2024 graduating class of Vermont State University will be the first merged class to graduate.
In the summer of 2023, the three institutions united to become Vermont State University.
According to Ouimet, the university communications office made a countdown to graduation to “build up and celebrate this year’s seniors,” who not only had to deal with the shift that came about as a result of the merging of the schools, but also the Covid-19 outbreak as freshmen.
The proposal to award Max an honorary doctorate in “Litter-ature” and include him in that historic class came from Rob Franklin, the school’s social media manager.
Ouimet claims that the university doesn’t really grant doctorates—at least not to individuals—so Max is essentially the only member of a select group.
“It was just intended to be just kind of lighthearted and kind of a joke but at the same time, realize that this cat did conjure up real feelings and real emotions and was a real support to a lot of people on our campuses during a difficult time,” Ouimet stated.
Dow chuckled when she learned of Franklin’s concept. “I’m like, ‘Really? OK,” she murmured. Furthermore, I was clueless about what it might reveal.
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Even his directory page and email address are unique to the furry graduate’s institution.
Email correspondence from as far away as Germany and England has been answered by Dow and her daughter, Kaitlyn Tanner, a student at Vermont State.
Max was routinely assaulted by other cats because of a feral cat problem that Dow claims was recently present in the neighborhood.
So, she posted flyers all over campus requesting that anyone who saw Max out after dark text her or bring him home. Max was in hand as they soon found themselves at her doorstep.
Regarding the celebration of his graduation, Dow said that Max did not walk during the May 18 ceremony, but his name was announced.
Ouimet observes that Max does not take a vacation from his school visits as summer approaches because summer camps are located on campus.
“He’ll be out there getting all the attention and I think he’ll just be a little more famous this year,” he stated. “People will be like, ‘Hey, that’s Max! He’s the famous cat.'”
