Honorary Degrees Granted by Kalamazoo College

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