Max, the cat

Max, the cat, gets doctorial degree.

Max the cat has hitched rides on top of students’ backpacks, participated in campus tours and more than once has sauntered into a psychology lecture at Vermont State University’s Castleton campus. The 5-year-old tabby is even listed on the staff roster at the university, where he has his own email address. So it seemed like an obvious next step when the university bestowed an honorary doctor of ‘litter-ature’ degree upon him, making him officially part of the graduating class of 2024, in addition to being a staff member. Max wears many hats, said Rob Franklin, a photographer and social media manager for Vermont State University. Last spring, Franklin had just started working at the university when he noticed the cat was everywhere, and he was treated like a celebrity. “I was talking to a colleague outside Woodruff Hall — the main building on campus — when I noticed this cat wandering around and everyone greeting him,” Franklin said. “I said, ‘What’s the deal with the cat?’ and I was told he came to the campus every day to socialize, then students would take him home when it got dark,” he said.