Australian native and IU President Michael McRobbie was awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree during a ceremony Friday at the Australian National University.

The degree recognizes McRobbie’s significant contributions to the university in the fields of artificial intelligence and computational science, as well as his achievements in leadership and innovation at the school.

“Michael McRobbie has made outstanding contributions to research management and institutional leadership in higher education as a scholar, an educator, an innovator and a leader in academia and the wider community,” ANU Vice Chancellor and President Ian Chubb said in an IU press release.

Along with receiving the honorary doctorate, McRobbie delivered an address to graduates of the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science.

McRobbie joined Chubb in September in signing a partnership agreement between the two universities for the creation of the jointly operated ANU-IU Pan Asian Institute.

“Joint language courses and other student and staff exchanges are already underway at the new institute, which combines the complementary academic strengths of the two universities into a single research and teaching enterprise with expertise that encompasses a broad range of Asian countries,” according to a press
release.