NYU’s Clive David Institute have been proving their relevance in pop culture lately. Powerhouse producer and Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff was announced as their artist in residence last year, following 100 Gecs. During Antonoff’s residence, a Taylor Swift course was integrated into the curriculum; the description explained that it delves “into analyses of the culture and politics of teen girlhood in pop music, fandom, media studies, whiteness and power as it relates to her image and the images of those who have both preceded and succeeded her.”
At the time, a representative for NYU told Variety that they’d invited Swift to join the class as a guest speaker. While that never happened, NYU has announced that they will be awarding Swift an honorary doctorate of fine arts and she will be speaking at commencement at Yankee Stadium on May 18. Students graduating this year, as well as students who graduated last year and weren’t able to have a ceremony because of the pandemic, will be in the audience.
It’s likely that Antonoff’s residence at NYU had to do with this; the pair have worked together constantly as of late, including on the ten-minute version of “All Too Well,” and they always have great things to say about each other.