Honorary Degrees Awarded


From Commencement 1951 to present

2012: Commencement,
May 22


Undergraduate Commencement
Rev. Richard J. Clifford, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Jane Ellen Ferreira
Doctor of Humane Letters
Joseph G. Timpone, Jr. '80, M.D.
Doctor of Science
Joseph P. Russoniello '63
Doctor of Laws
Graduate Commencement
Sister Clare Fitzgerald, S.S.N.D.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Suzanne and Bob Wright
Doctor of Laws

2011: Commencement,
May 22


Undergraduate Commencement
Honorable Maryanne Trump Barry
Doctor of Laws
Russell Goings
Doctor of Laws
The Rev. John W. O'Malley, S.J.
Doctor of Laws
Joseph D. Sargent '59, P'89, '86
Doctor of Laws
Graduate Commencement
Rear Admiral Brian P. Monahan
Doctor of Science

2010: Commencement,
May 23


Reverend Daniel J. Harrington, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Katherine Lapp
Doctor of Laws
Dr. Mayra Luz Perez Diaz
Doctor of Laws
Emily Kerman Rafferty
Doctor of Laws
Graduate Commencement
James L. Abbruzzese
Doctor of Science

2009: Commencement,
May 17


Monsignor Ralph W. Beiting
Doctor of Laws
Dr. Mathy Mezey
Doctor of Science
Dr. Peter J. Pronovost
Doctor of Science
Bryan A. Stevenson
Doctor of Laws

2008: Commencement,
May 18


David Amram
Doctor of Humane Letters
Reverend John Halligan, S.J.
Doctor of Laws
Sister M. Julianna Poole, S.S.N.D.
Doctor of Laws
Francis T. Vincent, Jr.
Doctor of Laws

2007: Commencement,
May 20


Edward P. Hardiman
Doctor of Laws
Meghan Lowney
Doctor of Laws
James P. Roach
Doctor of Laws
Very Reverend Thomas J. Regan, S.J.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

2006: Commencement,
May 21


Hope E. Carter
Doctor of Laws
Michael Joseph Daly
Doctor of Laws
Archbishop Celestino Migliore
Doctor of Laws
British August Robinson
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

2005: Commencement,
May 22


Maryann T. Furlong
Doctor of Laws
Arthur C. Laske
Doctor of Laws
Monsignor John C. Sanders
Doctor of Laws
Florence Schorske Wald
Doctor of Laws

2004: Commencement,
May 23


Judge Guido Calabresi
Doctor of Laws
James F. Hanrahan
Doctor of Laws
Reverend Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B.
Doctor of Laws
Cokie Roberts
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

2003: Commencement,
May 18


Michael W. Donnelly
Doctor of Laws
Mary Rose McGready, D.C.
Doctor of Laws
Grayce McVeigh Sills
Doctor of Science
Strobe Talbott
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

2002: Commencement,
May 19


George W. Bur, S.J.
Doctor of Laws
Loretta Brennan Glucksman
Doctor of Laws
John P. Sachs
Doctor of Science

2001: Commencement,
May 20


Ann Elizabeth Credidio, B.V.M.
Doctor of Laws
Arthur Levitt, Jr.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Daniel P. Tully
Doctor of Laws

2000: Commencement,
May 21


Richard J. Curry, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Colin G. Campbell
Doctor of Laws
Samuel E. Carter, S.J.
Doctor of Laws
Dennis D. Dammerman
Doctor of Laws

1999: Commencement,
May 23


Mark D. Gearan
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
James L. Connor, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Gustav Meier
Doctor of Laws
Leslie C. Quick, Jr.
Doctor of Laws

1998: Commencement,
May 17


Carole Simpson
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
David E.A. Carson
Doctor of Laws
Thomas F. Banchoff
Doctor of Science

1997: Commencement,
May 18


Thomas John Brokaw
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Lawrence E. Doby
Doctor of Laws
George Burton Harvey
Doctor of Laws
Elizabeth Marie Pfriem
Doctor of Laws

1996: Commencement,
May 19


Harris Wofford
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Milton J. Hinton
Doctor of Humane Letters
George W. Hunt, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Dorothy Bannow Larson
Doctor of Laws

1995: Commencement,
May 21


Jean Kennedy Smith
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Jacquelyn C. Durrell
Doctor of Laws
Marian L. Heard
Doctor of Laws
Alfred C. Kammer, S.J.
Doctor of Laws

1994: Commencement,
May 22


E. Gerald Corrigan
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
John J. Higgins, S.J.
Doctor of Laws
Robert Conover Macauley
Doctor of Laws
Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B.
Doctor of Laws

1993: Commencement,
May 23


Ann Woodruff Compton
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Reverend J. Bryan Hehir
Doctor of Humane Letters
James Dewey Watson
Doctor of Science

1992: Commencement,
May 17


John A. Barone
Doctor of Science
Thomas Edmund Aquinas Carew
Doctor of Laws
Harold W. McGraw, Jr.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Carmen F. Donnarumma (Speaker)

1991: Commencement,
May 19


William M. Joel
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Judge Ellen Bree Burns
Doctor of Laws
Reverend Martin McCarthy, S.J.
Doctor of Science
Paul Volcker
Doctor of Laws

1990: Commencement,
May 20


John J. Phelan
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Fortune Pope
Doctor of Laws
Willie H. Ruff
Doctor of Humane Letters

1989: Commencement,
May 21


Leonard Bernstein
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Clara McBride Hale
Doctor of Laws
L. William Miles
Doctor of Laws

1988: Commencement,
May 22


Reverend Timothy Healy, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Geraldine W. Johnson
Doctor of Laws
Ernest M. Lorch
Doctor of Laws
George F. Taylor
Doctor of Laws

1987: Commencement,
May 18


Reverend Lawrence A. Burke, S.J.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Alphonsus J. Donahue
Doctor of Laws
Lucille Lortel
Doctor of Humane Letters
Reverend David W. Tracy
Doctor of Humane Letters

1986: Commencement,
May 18


Dr. Robert Coles
Doctor of Humane Letters
Dith Pran
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Reverend William Wallace, O.P.
Doctor of Humane Letters

1985: Commencement,
May 19


Arvin Brown
Doctor of Humane Letters
Reverend George W. MacRae, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Governor William O'Neill
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Sister Mary Consolata O'Connor, R.S.M.
Doctor of Humane Letters

1984: Commencement,
May 20


Robert M. Hayes
Doctor of Laws
Ted Koppel
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Martha Elizabeth Rogers
Doctor of Science
Lawrence Arthur Wien
Doctor of Laws

1983: Commencement,
May 22


Margaret Ann Farley
Doctor of Humane Letters
Francis Joseph McNamara, Jr.
Doctor of Laws
Elie Wiesel
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)

1982: Commencement,
May 23


William Joseph Dorfer, Jr.
Doctor of Laws
Reverend Thomas R. Fitzgerald, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Jason Nelson Robards
Doctor of Humane Letters
Andrew Clark Sigler
Doctor of Laws

1981: Commencement,
May 24


Reverend Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Serena S. Merck
Doctor of Laws
Reverend Bruce Ritter, O.F.M.
Doctor of Laws
Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

1980: Commencement,
May 25


William L. Hawkins
Doctor of Humane Letters
David W.P. Jewitt
Doctor of Laws
Reverend George Stirling Mahan, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Reverend Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)

1979: Commencement,
May 27


Ella Grasso
Doctor of Public Service
Reverend Bernard Joseph Francis Lonergan, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
George William Miller - Doctor of Public Administration (Speaker)

1978: Commencement,
May 28


Reverend James H. Coughlin, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Evelyn Kennedy
Doctor of Public Service
Stewart B. McKinney
Doctor of Public Service (Speaker)
Arthur Miller
Doctor of Humane Letters

1977: Commencement,
May 22


Vincent Albert Cianci, Jr.
Doctor of Public Service (Speaker)
William Homer Timbers
Doctor of Civil Law

1976: Commencement,
May 23


Samuel Waller Hawley
Doctor of Public Service
Robert Paul Ramsey
Doctor of Humane Letters
Dean Rusk
Doctor of Civil Law (Speaker)

1975: Commencement,
May 25


Reverend William Charles McInnes, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Richard Peter McKeon
Doctor of Humane Letters
Reverend Theodore Martin Hesburgh
Doctor of Public Service
John Joseph Sirica
Doctor of Civil Law (Speaker)

1974: Commencement,
May 26


James Warren Birkenstock
Doctor of Laws
Samuel Dash
Doctor of Civil Law (Speaker)
William Styron
Doctor of Humane Letters
John Joseph Sullivan
Doctor of Public Service

1973: Commencement,
June 3


Sidney P. Marland, Jr.
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)
Rene Jules Dubos
Doctor of Science

1972: Commencement,
May 28


Joseph Hoffer Blatchford
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Lawrence Warren Pierce
Doctor of Laws
Max Tishler
Doctor of Science

1971: Commencement,
May 30


John Whittaker Christensen
Doctor of Science
Alvin Christian Eurich
Doctor of Humane Letters
Harrison Edward Farnsworth
Doctor of Science
Alexander Kipnis - Doctor of Fine Arts
Morris King Udall
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

1970: Commencement,
June 17


Kenneth Burke
Doctor of Humane Letters
Most Reverend Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D.
Doctor of Laws
Edmund Griffith Williamson - Doctor of Arts (Speaker)
Korczak Ziolkowski - Doctor of Arts

1969: Commencement,
June 8


Dana Lyda Farnsworth
Doctor of Science
J. Gerald Phelan - Doctor of Arts
Theodore Chaikin Sorensen
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Robert Penn Warren
Doctor of Humane Letters
Amos Wiven Wilder - Doctor of Theology

1968: Commencement,
June 9


Edward Bennett Williams
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Homer Daniels Babbidge, Jr.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Arsene Croteau
Doctor of Humane Letters
Peter Carl Goldmark
Doctor of Science

1967: Commencement,
June 14


Howard Thomas Owens
Doctor of Laws
Right Reverend Monsignor John Joseph Toomey
Doctor of Laws
Donald Henry McGannon
Doctor of Humane Letters
William Sumner Simpson
Doctor of Public Service
Edward John Steichen
Doctor of Fine Arts
Roger Tory Peterson
Doctor of Science

1966: Commencement,
June 15


John Dempsey
Doctor of Laws
James Vincent Joy
Doctor of Laws
John Courtney Murray
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Marion Anderson
Doctor of Humane Letters
Igor Ivan Sikorsky
Doctor of Science

1965: Commencement,
June 14


William Conley
Doctor of Laws
Richard Cardinal Cushing
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Thomas Dodd
Doctor of Laws
Henry W. Littlefield
Doctor of Laws

1964: Commencement,
June 8


Paul Horgan
Doctor of Humane Letters (Speaker)

1963: Commencement,
June 10


Right Reverend Monsignor John H. Anderson, D.D., P.A.
Doctor of Laws
William Joseph Sanders
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Sir Alexander Bustamante, K. B.
Doctor of Laws

1962: Commencement,
June 11


Most Reverend Walter William Curtis, S.T.D.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

1961: Commencement,
June 12


Herman William Steinkraus
Doctor of Laws
Right Reverend Monsignor Cornelius P. Tuelings
Doctor of Humane Letters
Francis James Braceland
Doctor of Science (Speaker)

1960: Commencement,
June 7


Henry Michael Hogan
Doctor of Laws
Thomas Dresser White
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Reverend John J. Collins, S.J.
Doctor of Humane Letters

1959: Commencement,
June 9


Abraham Ribicoff
Doctor of Laws
Most Reverend Bernard J. Flanagan, D.D.
Doctor of Laws(Speaker)
Joseph Sullivan
Doctor of Laws
John Peter Hagan
Doctor of Science

1954: Commencement,
June 8


Most Reverend Joseph Lawrence Shehan, D.D.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)

1953: Commencement,
June 9


Most Reverend John Francis Hackett, D.D.
Doctor of Laws
Raymond Earl Baldwin
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Margaret Veronica Kiely
Doctor of Laws

1952: Commencement,
June 10


Most Reverend Monsignor Joseph Francis Donnelly
Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Charles Malik
Doctor of Laws
Reverend Edward Bernard Rooney, S.J.
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)
Frank Daniel Whalen
Doctor of Laws
James Milton O'Neil
Doctor of Humane Letters

1951: Commencement,
June 12


Most Reverend Henry J. O'Brien, D.D.
Doctor of Laws
Most Reverend William R. Arnold, D.D.
Doctor of Laws
Most Reverend John J. McEleney, S.J., D.D.
Doctor of Laws
The Honorable J. Howard McGrath
Doctor of Laws (Speaker)