Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk received an honorary doctorate degree from Liberty University last week, ahead of the school’s commencement ceremony.

Kirk, the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, was presented by Liberty University with a distinguished doctorate degree for his “exceptional leadership and energetic voice.” The TPUSA founder reacted to the doctorate degree by calling it an “incredible honor.”

“It’s such an honor to be speaking to the greatest college in America, and I can say that, because I visit nothing but colleges all across the country,” said Kirk on Saturday at the school’s graduation ceremony, ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s commencement address, “It’s an absolutely incredible honor to be here.”

Incredible honor. Thank you so much to Liberty and @JerryFalwellJr https://t.co/nJDQ2wfkBZ — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 11, 2019

“Citing his exceptional leadership and energetic voice for Conservatives through his @TPUSA, [university president Jerry Falwell Jr.] and [Liberty University] Provosts grant an honorary doctorate to [Charlie Kirk],” tweeted the university on Friday.

“It is beyond humbling and incredible to receive such an honor,” said Kirk to Breitbart News, “I want to thank Jerry Falwell Jr. and the amazing Liberty University family for this distinction.”

Kirk’s biggest critics would oftentimes appeal to authority by arguing that the TPUSA founder should not have embarked on his own endeavors to lead a campus movement until after obtaining a degree from an accredited university — an argument that appears to have been made null and void as of Friday.

Nearly seven years after its founding, the conservative student movement championing free markets and limited government has grown substantially, with TPUSA now listing its presence at over 1,000 college and high school campuses, as the organization hosts annual events attracting thousands of young people from across the country.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.