This week's graduating class at Barry University is about to get bigger.



Retired NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal will graduate Saturday with a doctoral degree in education from the Miami Shores university. His 7-foot-1 frame will don a red-and-black velvet gown as he joins 1,100 graduating students at the commencement ceremonies at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.



Known simply as Shaq, he now can call himself Dr. O'Neal. For 4 1/2 years, the former Miami Heat center took 16 courses, completed 54 credit hours and carried a grade point average of 3.813, according to the university. The 40-year-old's exact degree is in Organizational Learning and Leadership, with a specialization in human resource development.



"He was a good student," said Dr. David M. Kopp, chairman of the university's Organizational Learning and Leadership program. "He is very intellectually curious. He is like a sponge, he takes everything in.''



Because of O'Neal's hectic schedule in recent years, professors had to fly to him for one-on-one classes, some of which took place in Cincinnati, Orlando, Los Angeles and New York. Kopp said the travel was at O'Neal's expense.



"We found it more efficient to go to him,'' said Kopp, who noted that O'Neal also took classes on campus and via video conferencing. These days, the former South Florida resident lives in the Orlando area.



"We used every teaching modality that we use on traditional students, but in his case, we would go to him," Kopp said. "There were a few occasions where he came to campus and was in class."



Two weeks ago, O'Neal presented his doctoral dissertation before Barry faculty members. His oral and video project was titled, "How Leaders Utilize Humor or Seriousness in Leadership Roles." He is expected to use his degree to advance his post-basketball entrepreneurial career, which includes working as an analyst on TNT's "Inside the NBA" sports program.



O'Neal knows something about cultivating a prolific career. His basketball resume: 19 seasons with the NBA. Aside from the Heat, his other teams have included the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He competed for the Boston Celtics for one season before retiring June.



He's always had an interest in education. In 2000, O'Neal graduated from Louisiana State University with a bachelor of science in general studies. In 2005, he got his MBA through an online program from the University of Phoenix.



In South Florida, O'Neal was also involved in the community. He was a reserve officer for the Miami Beach Police Department and was known to give way game tickets via his Twitter account.



He was unavailable for comment Tuesday because of his schedule, according to his publicist, Glenn Bunting. But in a university release, he stated: "This is for my mother, who always stressed the importance of education. I am proud to have achieved a doctoral degree and wish to thank my professors and Barry University for helping make this dream a reality. I'm smart enough to know that, even at my tender age, my pursuit of education is never finished."



johnnydiaz@tribune.com or 954-356-4939