Honorary Degrees
YEAR | NAME | DEGREE | |
1868 | Rev. Samuel Cornelius | D.D. | |
Philip Hodemaker (Holland, Europe) | A.M. | ||
A.G. Pierce (Mich.) | A.M. | ||
1869/70 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1871 | Rev. Alfred Owen (Detroit) | D.D. | |
1872/73 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1874 | Rev. E. J. Fish (Adrian) | D.D. | |
Prof. Edward Olney (Ann Arbor) | L.D. | ||
1875 | Rev. William T. Stott (President of Franklin College, Franklin, IN) | D.D. | |
Jeanette Fisher (Principal of Michigan Female Seminary) | A.M. | ||
1876/77 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1878 | Prof. Joseph P. Vrooman (Michigan State Normal School) | M.A. | |
1879 | George Washington Northrup (D.D.) (Chicago) | LL.D. | |
1880/81 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1882 | Rev. John Everett Clough (Angola, India) | D.D. | |
George W. Greene, M.D. (Three Rivers) | M.A. | ||
1883/84 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1885 | Rev. George F. Hunting (Kalamazoo) | D.D. | |
Rev. Asher E. Mather (Battle Creek) | D.D. | ||
Prof. Edward Olson (University of Chicago) | Ph.D. | ||
Prof. Lewis Stewart (University of Chicago) | Ph.D. | ||
August Loudeman | M.A. | ||
1886 | No honorary degree awarded | ||
1887 | Rev. John S. Holmes (Adrian) | D.D. | |
1888 | Julia A. King | M.A. | |
1889-1895 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1896 | Rev. Lemuel Call Barnes (Pittsburgh) | D.D. | |
1897 | Donald Drummond MacLaurin | D.D. | |
1898/99 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1900 | William A. Moore | LL.D. | |
1901/02 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1903 | William M. Upcraft | D.D. | |
1904 | E.P. Tuller | D.D. | |
1905 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1906 | Robert J. Burdette | D.D. | |
1907 | No honorary degree awarded | ||
1908 | Wooster Woodruff Beman | LL.D. | |
1909/10 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1911 | Stillman George Jenks | M.S. | |
1912 | Albert Lenox Vail | D.D. | |
Dwight B. Waldo | LL.D. | ||
1913/14 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1915 | Shattuck Osgood Hartwell | LL.D. | |
George Wheaton Taft | D.D. | ||
1916 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1917 | Caroline Bartlett Crane | LL.D. | |
Hinton DeWitt Girdwood | LL.D. | ||
Elisha Moore Lake | D.D. | ||
1918 | David Triestram Magill | D.D. | |
John Wellington Hoag | D.D. | ||
1919 | Clarke Benedict Williams | D.S. | |
1920 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1921 | John E. Smith (K 1894) | D.D. | |
1922 | Floyd I. Beckwith (K 1904) | D.D. | |
Charles A. Deppe | Sc.D. | ||
James M. McGee (K 1905) | D.D. | ||
1923 | Merrill C. Hart (K 1913) | Sc.D. | |
Charles M. Stuart (K 1880) | D.H. | ||
1924 | Albert E. Jenks (K 1896) | Sc.D. | |
Ransom E. Olds | Sc.D. | ||
Mark F. Sanborn (K 1905) | D.D. | ||
1925 | Henry M. Bates | LL.D. | |
William E. Praeger | Sc.D. | ||
1926 | James B. Fox (K 1896) | D.D. | |
Daniel C. Holtom (K 1907) | D.D. | ||
John E. Walker (K 1907) | LL.D. | ||
1927 | John R. Effinger | Litt.D. | |
Frank Kurz | D.D. | ||
William Lyon Phelps | LL.D. | ||
1928 | John E. West | LL.D. | |
1929 | George E. Merrill | Sc.D. | |
1930 | Maynard Owen Williams (K 1910) | Litt.D. | |
1931 | James E. Napp (K 1908) | D.D. | |
Alexander G. Ruthven | Sc.D. | ||
1932 | Coe S. Hane (K 1899) | Litt.D. | |
Floyd C. Wilcox (K 1910) | D.D. | ||
1933 | Justin H. Bacon | Litt.D. | |
Stella Fisher-Burgess (K 1905) | Litt.D. | ||
Hugh Chamberlin Burr | D.D. | ||
Leroy J. Buttolph (K 1913) | Sc.D. | ||
Oscar J. Campbell | Litt.D. | ||
Stewart B. Crandall (K 1903) | D.D. | ||
Vernor C. Finch (K 1908) | Sc.D. | ||
Ernest E. Ford (K 1897) | D.D. | ||
Paul W. Hayne (K 1897) | D.D. | ||
Allan Hoben | LL.D. | ||
Charles A. Kraus | Sc.D. | ||
Lemuel F. Smith | Sc.D. | ||
1934 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1935 | John W. Elliot | D.D. | |
Lewis E. Martin (K 1888) | D.D. | ||
Leonard H. Stewart (K 1885) | Sc.D. | ||
1936 | Augustis W. Crane | Sc.D. | |
Charles T. Goodsell | LL.D. | ||
Milton M. McGorrill | D.D. | ||
1937 | Frederick W. Heyl | Sc.D. | |
J. Edgar Hoover | Sc.D. | ||
1938 | Claude V. Courter (K 1911) | Ed.D. | |
Claude M. Harmon | LL.D. | ||
Wilbur Nelson (K 1901) | D.D. | ||
1939 | John C. Walker (K 1918) | D.D. | |
T. Thomas Wylie | D.D. | ||
1940 | M. Forest Ashbrook | D.D. | |
1941 | Enos DeWaters (K 1899) | Sc.D. | |
Alfred G. Walton (K 1911) | D.D. | ||
Forbes Wiley (K 1906) | Sc.D. | ||
1942 | Charles S. Campbell | LL.D. | |
Howard A. Vernon | D.D. | ||
Flora D. Roberts | M.A. | ||
1943 | Carl H. Chatters (K 1919) | LL.D. | |
Homer Ferguson | LL.D. | ||
Milton Simpson | Litt.D. | ||
John K. Walsh | M.A. | ||
1944 | Donald R. Belcher (K 1909) | LL.D. | |
J. Melvin Prior (K 1926) | D.D. | ||
Louis W. Sutherland | LL.D. | ||
1945 | J. Burton Bouwman (K 1916) | D.D. | |
Harold W. Brown (K 1924) | D.H. | ||
Martha J. Gifford (K 1910) | Sc.D. | ||
1946 | Otis A. Earl | LL.D. | |
Warren C. Johnson (K 1922) | Sc.D. | ||
Carl H. Norcross (K 1923) | Sc.D. | ||
C. Fulton Oursler | Litt.D. | ||
1947 | Trevor Arnett | LL.D. | |
Lewis L. Dunnington | D.D. | ||
1948 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1949 | Dwight H. Rich (K 1919) | LL.D. | |
George W. Stewart | Sc.D. | ||
Hillyer H. Straton | D.D. | ||
1950 | Charles K. Johnson (K 1932) | D.D. | |
1951 | Dwight S. Large | D.D. | |
Roy E. Larsen | D.H. | ||
Louis T. Thompson (K 1914) | Sc.D. | ||
1952 | Kenneth S. LaTourette | D.H. | |
1953 | No honorary degrees awarded | ||
1954 | Franklin D. Elmer | D.D. | |
George K. Ferguson (K 1913) | LL.D. | ||
Chester H. Loucks | D.D. | ||
1955 | Charles R. Bell, Jr. | D.D. | |
Leland I. Doan | LL.D. | ||
Frederic Groetsema (K 1931) | D.D. | ||
William G. Pollard | Sc.D. | ||
1956 | Homer J. Armstrong | D.D. | |
Samuel McCrea Cavert | D.D. | ||
Donald S. Gilmore | LL.D. | ||
Marston Bates | Sc.D. | ||
1957 | Richard Cummings | D.D. | |
Herman J. Felber | D.Mus. | ||
Margaret Mead | L.H.D. | ||
Paul V. Sangren | LL.D. | ||
Helen White | L.H.D. | ||
1958 | Burton L. Baker (K 1933) | Sc.D. | |
Edwin T. Dahlberg | D.D. | ||
Harlan H. Hatcher | LL.D. | ||
Winthrop S. Hudson (K 1933) | D.D. | ||
Frederick O. Pinkham (K 1942) | LL.D. | ||
Leroy D. Stinebower (K 1926) | LL.D. | ||
Dee Tourtelotte (K 1925) | Sc.D. | ||
1959 | Waclaw Jedrzejewicz | LL.D. | |
Benjamin E. Mays | D.D. | ||
Paul Woodring | L.H.D. | ||
1960 | Marston S. Balch (K 1923) | L.H.D. | |
Samuel H. Miller | D.D. | ||
Willard Thorp | L.H.D. | ||
1961 | Gene E. Bartlett | D.D. | |
Thurgood Marshall | LL.D. | ||
Wilbour E. Saunders | L.H.D. | ||
William P. Woodward (K 1918) | D.D. | ||
1962 | John D. Montgomery (K 1941) | LL.D. | |
Albert C. Outler | D.D. | ||
Franz Josef Strauss | LL.D. | ||
Eugene S. Thomas | LL.D. | ||
1963 | Frances O. Clark (K 1928) | D.Mus. | |
Lawrence M. Gould | L.H.D. | ||
Richard U. Light | L.H.D. | ||
Howard R. Moody | D.D. | ||
1964 | John Ciardi | L.H.D. | |
George L. Collins | D.D. | ||
Clark M. Eichelberger | LL.D. | ||
Chris E. Lawson | D.D. | ||
Davidson Nicol | Sc.D. | ||
1965 | Aaron Copland | D.Mus. | |
Willis F. Dunbar (K 1924) | LL.D. | ||
William T. Gossett | LL.D. | ||
William Muehl | LL.D. | ||
Henri Peyre | L.H.D. | ||
1966 | Theodosius Dobzhansky | Sc.D. | |
Edouard Morot-Sir | LL.D. | ||
Edwin Spencer Parsons | D.D. | ||
Curtis W. Sabrosky (K 1931) | Sc.D. | ||
1967 | H. Gardner Ackley | LL.D. | |
Loren C. Eiseley | L.H.D. | ||
John A. Hannah | LL.D. | ||
Foster Edward Mohrhardt | LL.D. | ||
Dean Peerman | D.D. | ||
1968 | Harvey G. Cox | D.D. | |
Constantinos A. Doxiadis | LL.D. | ||
Milton Friedman | LL.D. | ||
1969 | John Hope Franklin | LL.D. | |
Christopher S. Jencks | LL.D. | ||
Carlyle Marney | D.D. | ||
1970 | Robert K. Merton | L.H.D. | |
John R. Silber | L.H.D. | ||
Laurence L. Spitters (K 1948) | LL.D. | ||
1971 | Rene J. Dubos | L.H.D. | |
Gordon F. Kurtz (K 1948) | D.D. | ||
Wiliam F. Keucher | D.D. | ||
William D. Ruckelshaus | LL.D. | ||
1972 | David Easton | LL.D. | |
Kenneth E. Boulding | L.H.D. | ||
Galway Kinnell | L.H.D. | ||
John E. Fetzer | LL.D. | ||
James W. Miller | LL.D. | ||
1973 | Maynard Mack | Litt.D. | |
Pauline Kael | L.H.D. | ||
Donald Goodrich Little (K 1916) | Sc.D. | ||
John Wilson Porter | L.H.D. | ||
1974 | Albert Calhoun Pittman | D.D. | |
Ralf Dahrendorf | L.H.D. | ||
Weimer Kerr Hicks | LL.D. | ||
1975 | O.B. Hardison, Jr. | Litt.D. | |
Elliott M. Estes | LL.D. | ||
John E. Hines | D.D. | ||
Daniel L. Schorr | L.H.D. | ||
1976 | Lawrence A. Cremin | L.H.D. | |
Linus C. Pauling | Sc.D. | ||
Stanley S. Kresge | LL.D. | ||
1977 | Germaine Bree | D.H. | |
Dorothy Upjohn Dalton (K 1914) | D.H. | ||
Joseph Papp | D.F.A. | ||
George Warren Rickey | D.F.A. | ||
1978 | Ralph David Abernathy | D.D. | |
Wigbert Holle | L.H.D. | ||
William G. Milliken | LL.D. | ||
Ray T. Parfet, Jr. | L.H.D. | ||
Elliot L. Richardson | LL.D. | ||
1979 | Landrum R. Bolling | L.H.D. | |
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. | D.D. | ||
Jaqueline Anderson Mattfield | L.H.D. | ||
Robert McQueen Grant | L.H.D. | ||
1980 | Stanley Cavell | L.H.D. | |
Norman Cousins | L.H.D. | ||
Robert McAffee Brown | D.D. | ||
Russell George Mawby | LL.D. | ||
Anna Dorothy Wylie | L.H.D. | ||
1981 | E. Mandell DeWindt | LL.D. | |
Charles A. Pratt | LL.D. | ||
Paul Simon: U.S. Senator and Representative from Illinois | L.H.D. | ||
1982 | Marshall D. Shulman | L.H.D. | |
John Brademas | LL.D. | ||
William T. Creson | LL.D. | ||
Theodore M. Hesburgh | L.H.D. | ||
1983 | John Torben Bernhard: President of Western Michigan University | L.H.D. | |
Beverly Roberts Gaventa: Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis at the Princeton Theological Seminary | D.D. | ||
Amory Bloch Lovins: Director of Research of Rocky Mountain Institute | D.Sc. | ||
Davidson Nicol (Sesquicentennial Citation): Sierra Leonean diplomat, physician, medical researcher, and writer | |||
Harry Albert Towsley (K 1926): Pediatrician, professor, and philanthropist | D.Sc. | ||
1984 | Genevieve U. Gilmore | L.H.D. | |
Jitsuo Morikawa: Baptist minister | D.D. | ||
Joe Hinton Stroud: Editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press | L.H.D. | ||
George Wald: Biochemist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine | L.H.D. | ||
1985 | Shirley Anita Chisholm: U.S. Representative from New York | L.H.D. | |
Marshall Theodore Meyer: Rabbi and religious leader | D.D. | ||
Paul R. Halmos: Professor of Mathematics, Indiana University | L.H.D. | ||
1986 | Kimpianga Mahaniah (K 1967): Professor at the National Teaching Institute | D.D. | |
E. Gifford Upjohn: Former CEO of Upjohn Company | LL.D. | ||
1987 | Lawrence C. Hoff: Chairman of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, and the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education |
LL.D. | |
George Vail Pixley (K 1958): Professor of Biblical Studies , Baptist Theological Seminary of Nicaragua Seminario Teologico Bautista | D.D. | ||
Dennis Brutus: South African activist and poet | L.H.D. | ||
Ronald Dworkin: Professor of Law and Philosophy at NYU | L.H.D. | ||
1988 | David S. Broder: Political columnist | L.H.D. | |
Hildegard Goss-Mayr: Honorary President, International Fellowship of Reconciliation | D.D. | ||
Ursula Leonhardt | L.H.D. | ||
Martha Craven Nussbaum: Research Advisor at the World Institute for Development Economics Research | L.H.D. | ||
1989 | Robert Jewett: Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary | D.D. | |
Jeremy Bernstein | |||
Mark O. Hatfield: U.S. Senator from Oregon | L.H.D. | ||
Herbert H. Dow II: Vice President of Dow Chemical Company | L.H.D. | ||
Wen Chao Chen: Professor of Political Science, Kalamazoo College | L.H.D. | ||
1990 | Yehudi Menuhin: Violinist | D.Mus. | |
Jon W. Fuller: Senior fellow at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities | L.H.D. | ||
Andre Heinz | L.H.D. | ||
Margaret R. Miles: Professor of Historical Theology at the Harvard University Divinity School | D.D. | ||
William A. Sederburg: Michigan Senator | LL.D. | ||
William J. Raspberry: Urban and minority affairs columnist, | L.H.D. | ||
1991 | Wayne Booth: Professor of English, University of Chicago | L.H.D. | |
Theodore Cooper: Chairman and CEO of the Upjohn company | D.Sc. | ||
Alfredo Ramon: Artist | D.F.A. | ||
Howard Wolpe: Former Presidential special envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region | LL.D. | ||
David Warren Brubeck: Jazz musician | D.Mus. | ||
1992 | Amy Gutmann: Professor of Politics at Princeton University | LL.D. | |
Maurie Golle | L.H.D. | ||
Arthur Ashe: Champion tennis player | L.H.D. | ||
Jose Vidal | L.H.D. | ||
Joseph L. Roberts, Jr.: Senior Pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church | D.D. | ||
Johnetta Cole: Educator and President of Spelman College | L.H.D. | ||
1993 | Nancy Rosenblum: Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government, Harvard University | L.H.D. | |
Yoshimi Takeda: Music Director of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra | D.Mus. | ||
Elizabeth S. Upjohn | D.H. | ||
Leland Lubbers | L.H.D. | ||
1994 | Michael Walzer: Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton | L.H.D. | |
Charles G. Adams: Pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan | D.D. | ||
1995 | Hilary Putnam: Mathematician and philosopher | L.H.D. | |
Martha G. Parfet: Chairwoman of Gilmore Brothers, Inc. | D.H. | ||
Paul H. Todd,Jr.: U.S. Representative from Michigan | D.H. | ||
1996 | Daniel Charles Maguire | D.D. | |
Santiago Gangotena: Director of Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador | D.Sc. | ||
1997 | Richard Crawford: Professor of Musicology, University of Michigan | D.Mus. | |
Preston S. Parish | L.H.D. | ||
1998 | Louise Goss K1948 | D. Mus. | |
Ulrich Littman | L.H.D. | ||
1999 | Dr. Martin E. Marty | L.H.D. | |
2000 | Clyde Wilcox | L.H.D. | |
Dr. Kenneth G. Elzinga K1963 | L.H.D. | ||
Dr. Rafael Muatine Munavu | L.H.D. | ||
2001 | Dr. Akira Iriye | L.H.D. | |
Dr. W. Maxwell Cowan | L.H.D. | ||
Rev. Dr. Otha Gilyard | L.H.D. | ||
Mr. Robert L. Payton | L.H.D. | ||
2002 | Dr. Mary Patterson McPherson | L.H.D. | |
2003 | Mr. John W. Brown | L.H.D. | |
Dr. Judith Mbula Bahemuka | L.H.D. | ||
Mr. Gustav Meier | D.Mus. | ||
2004 | Mr. Richard Ford | L.H.D. | |
Mr. Ihsan H. Shurdom | L.H.D. | ||
Dr. James F. Jones, Jr. | L.H.D. | ||
2005 | Dr. William H. Gass | L.H.D. | |
Mr. Dale Chihuly | D.F.A | ||
2006 | Dr. Ha Jin | Litt. D | |
2007 | Ms. Ann Patchett | Litt. D | |
Dr. Grace Lee Boggs | L.D. | ||
Mr. Robert O. Kramer | L.H.D. | ||
2008 | Mr. Victor K. Braden Jr. ’51 | D.Sc. | |
David W. Breneman | L.H.D. | ||
Aleksandar Hemon | L.H.D. | ||
2009 | Mrs. Margaret Ann “Ranny” Riecker | L.H.D. | |
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | L.H.D. | ||
2010 | Mr. Carl M. Levin | LL.D. | |
2011 | Mr. Noah Feldman | LL.D. | |
Edward P. Jones | L.H.D. | ||
2012 | Linda Rae Murray | D.Sc. | |
2013 | Donald R. Parfet | D.H.D. | |
Rachel Kushner | D.H.D. | ||
Walter E. Massey | D.Sc. | ||
2014 | Rafael A. Suarez, Jr. | D.H.D. | |
2015 | David Finkel | D.H.D. | |
Urvashi Vaid | LL.D. | ||
2016 | Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran | L.H.D. | |
Bonnie Jo Campbell | L.H.D. | ||
Gay J. McDougall | LL.D. | ||
2017 | Kevin Lobo | D.H.L. | |
2018 | Deborah Bial | D.H.L. | |
2019 | Leslie Jamison | D.H.L. | |
2021 | Julie Mehretu | D.H.L | |
Charlotte Hall | D.H.L. | ||
Key:
D.D. = Doctor of Divinity
A.M./M.A. = Master of Arts
M.S. = Master of Science
L.D./Litt.D. = Doctorate of Letters
LL.D. = Doctorate of Laws
Ph.D. = Doctorate of Philosophy
Sc.D. = Doctorate of Science
Ed.D. = Doctorate of Education
D.H./L.H.D./D.H.L. = Doctorate of Humane Letters
D.Mus. = Doctorate of Music
D.F.A. = Doctorate of Fine Arts