WASHINGTON: An elite US university for women said Thursday it planned to honor rock'n'roll icon Patti Smith, a 1960s college dropout, as "a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of rock and roll."
In a statement, Bryn Mawr College said it would present Smith -- hailed by many as the "godmother of punk" -- with its Katharine Hepburn Medal at a gala event on February 7.
"She was a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of rock and roll, and conveys enormous passion and continues to transform herself throughout her artistic journey," said university president Jane McAuliffe.
Bryn Mawr, situated outside Philadelphia, is one of the last all-women universities in the United States. Its alumni includes late Hollywood legend Hepburn, who graduated in 1928.
Smith attended a state college in her native New Jersey, but dropped out after three years because, she said in a 2008 interview with Philadelphia magazine, she couldn't get to grips with math or biology.
From there, she went to New York, becoming a pioneer in the city's gritty 1970s underground rock scene that inspired punk, new wave and grunge. She was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 2007.
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