Some colleges invite dignitaries and heads of state to deliver their commencement address. Others want mainstream celebrities, or even star athletes the college counts among its alumni. If you’re Goddard College in Vermont, though, you go a different route: Mumia Abu-Jamal, currently serving a life sentence for the 1981 killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” said Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police head John McNesby. “It’s a slap in the face to Philadelphia law enforcement and all police officers.”

If there were ever such a thing as a “celebrity” cop killer, it would be Abu-Jamal. He’s long maintained his innocence, and has filed appeal after appeal in attempts to overturn his conviction. Though they’ve all failed, his vocal proclamations of innocence haven’t stopped thousands of freedom fighters from taking up a “Free Mumia” campaign. T-shirts bearing his likeness are particularly popular with college students and Hollywood celebrities alike.

For their part, the small graduating class of 20 doesn’t appear to have invited Abu-Jamal for malicious reasons or to disrespect peace officers. It’s all about the spirit, man.

“They chose Mumia because to them, Mumia represents a struggle for freedom of the mind, body, and spirit,” said Goddard spokeswoman Samantha Kolber. “Those were values important to this graduating class.”

Goddard is a… very special kind of college. It’s small, with about 700 students, and its curriculum includes neither grades nor tests. It’s student body is anything but normal: Students advance through self-evaluation of their personal growth, work from home and only visit campus a few times per year, and have an average age of 35 – which would have put them at a more traditional college-age at the height of Mumia mania.

The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police and widow Maureen Faulkner have battled to end Abdu-Jamal’s public speaking campaign (a big source for his continued support) with limited success. Mrs. Faulkner says that every speaking engagement of his is like re-opening a wound. Abdu-Jamal was originally sentenced to death, but caught a reprieve with the Philadelphia DA ceased pursuit of his execution in 2011.