Honorary Degrees

1965

Laura C. Boulton

1920

Doctor of Humane Letters

Distinguished Musicologist, Lecturer and Writer; Collector of ethnic music

1966

Kenneth Maxwell

1935

Doctor of Divinity

Renowned Paster. Teacher, and Writer

1968

Almonte Howell

1917

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of English, Author

1968

Edwin Resichauer

Doctor of Laws

Professor of Far Eastern Languages, Author and US Ambassador to Japan

1969

Clyde Holbrook

Doctor of Sacred Theology

Professor of Religion, Author

1970

Jacob Lawrence

Doctor of Fine Arts

Painter and Intructor of Arts

1970

Stanley Hanna

1941

Doctor of Science

Low-Energy Nuclear Research, Professor of Physics

1973

Richard Dean

1947

Doctor of Science

Professor of Mathematics, California Institute of Technology

1974

Hanna Gray

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of History, Vice President and Provost at Yale University, 1973

1974

Edward Levi

Doctor of Laws

Professor of Law, Author, Editor and President of University of Chicago

1975

Willbert McKeachie

Doctor of Science

Professor of Research into Teaching/Learning and Evaluation, Author

1975

Mary Jane Oestmann

1946

Doctor of Science

Chemist of the Division of Radiation and Environmental Protection of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

1975

George Shinn

Doctor of Letters

President and Chief Operating Officer of Merrill Lynch, Fenner, & Smith, Inc

1975

James Short

1947

Doctor of Science

Professor of Social Sciences, Editor

1975

Thomas Skidmore

1954

Doctor of Letters

Professor of History at Harvard University, Author

1976

the Rev. Dr. James B. Ashbrook

1947

Doctor of Laws

Professor of Psychology/Theology, Colgate Rochester Divinity School

1976

Charlotte Murray Curtis

Doctor of Laws

Associate Editor, The New York Times

1976

Joseph L. King

Doctor of Humane Letters

Distinguished Professor of English, Samford University

1976

Carl E. Sagan

Doctor of Science

Professor of Astronomy and Space Science & Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies, Cornell University

1976

the Rev. Dr. Nathan A. Scott, Jr.

Doctor of Letters

Shailer Mathews Professor of Theology and Literature, Divinity School of the University of Chicago

Commencement Speaker

1977

George W. Ball

Doctor of Laws

Former United States Under Secretary of State; Investment Banker

Commencement Speaker

1977

Richard B. Brandt

1930

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Philosophy, University of Michigan

1977

Lydia Cabrera

Doctor of Letters

Life-Long Researcher on the Life of Caribbean Blacks

1977

Josef Svoboda

Doctor of Fine Arts

Professor of Architecture, Academy of Applied Arts - Prague, The Czech Republic; Chief Designer/Technical Director, National Theatre of Prague

1978

Leon Contran Damas

Doctor of Humane Letters

French Guianan Black Poet

Posthumous Degree

1978

Cyrus S. Eaton

Doctor of Humane Letters

Chair Emeritus/Director, Chessie Systems, Inc.

1978

Parker E. Lichtenstein

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Psychology & Dean of the College, Denison University

1978

Sen. Richard G. Lugar

1954

Doctor of Laws

United States Senator, State of Indiana

Commencement Speaker

1978

Philip Morrison

Doctor of Science

Institute Professor & Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1978

Barbara W. Newell

Doctor of Humane Letters

President, Wellesley College

1978

Benjamin A. Rogge

Doctor of Laws

Distinguished Professor of Political Economy, Wabash College

1979

Clark Lee Blaise

1961

Doctor of Letters

Writer

1979

the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Jr.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Senior Minister, Riverside Church (New York City)

Commencement Speaker

1979

Naomi Mills Garrett

Doctor of Letters

Educator, Author, Critic

1979

Leon Jaworski

Doctor of Laws

Attorney

1979

Donald F. McHenry

Doctor of Laws

Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations Security Council

1980

Ernest J. Gaines

Doctor of Letters

Writer

1980

Harold “Hal” Holbrook

1948

Doctor of Fine Arts

Actor

1980

Frederick T. Holden

1937

Doctor of Science

Geologist

1980

Thomas L. Hughes

Doctor of Laws

President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commencement Speaker

1980

Eleanor Holmes Norton

Doctor of Laws

Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner of the United States

1980

John Somerville

Doctor of Humane Letters

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Hunter College of CUNY

1981

John R. Anderson

1938

Doctor of Science

CEO, Verbatim Corp.

1981

Laura C. Harris

1916

Doctor of Humane Letters

Pediatrician

1981

Raymond K. McLain

Doctor of Fine Arts

Patriarch of the McLain Family Band (Bluegrass)

1981

Gustavo A. Parajon

1959

Doctor of Humane Letters

Physician

1981

Peter M. Rentzepis

1955

Doctor of Science

Chief of Physical & Inorganic Chemistry Research, Bell Laboratories

1981

John E. F. Wood

1924

Doctor of Laws

Rhodes Scholar; Attorney

Commencement Speaker

1982

Samuel H. Armacost

1961

Doctor of Laws

President/CEO, BankAmerica Corporation

1982

William A. Fowler

Doctor of Science

Institute Professor of Physics, California Institute of Technology

1982

Rosemary Radford Ruether

Doctor of Humane Letters

Georgia Harkness Professor, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

1982

Helen Suzman

Doctor of Humane Letters

Anti-Apartheid Member of Parliament, South Africa

Commencement Speaker

1983

James P. Grant

Doctor of Humane Letters

Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund Under Secretary General of the United Nations

1983

Frederick G. Kilgour

Doctor of Humane Letters

Vice Chair & Member of the Board of Trustees, Online Computer Library Center (OCLC, Inc.)

1983

Coretta Scott King

Doctor of Humane Letters

President/CEO, The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

Commencement Speaker

1983

William H. McNeill

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of History, University of Chicago

1983

Harlan J. Smith

Doctor of Science

Professor of Astronomy, University of Texas, Austin; Director, McDonald Observatory

1983

Marina von Neumann Whitman

Doctor of Laws

Vice President & Chief Economist, General Motors; Distinguished Public Service Professor of Economics, University of Pittsburgh

1984

Robert C. Good

Doctor of Humane Letters

President, Denison University

Surprise Presentation

1984

Stephen J. Gould

Doctor of Science

Professor of Geology, Harvard University; Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, Museum of Comparative Zoology

Commencement Speaker

1984

James B. Holderman

1958

Doctor of Humane Letters

President, University of South Carolina

1984

The Hon. Prentice H. Marshall

Doctor of Laws

Judge, U.S. District Court (Northern District of Illinois)

1984

Arnold Ephraim Ross

Doctor of Science

Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, The Ohio State University

1985

Louis F. Brakeman

Doctor of Humane Letters

Provost, Denison University

Commencement Speaker

1985

Kathryn Meadow-Orlans

1951

Doctor of Humane Letters

Author & Researcher in Deaf Education

1986

James H. Cone

Doctor of Humane Letters

Charles A. Briggs Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theology Seminary

1986

Donald L. Everhart

1939

Doctor of Science

Geologist

1986

Anthony J. P. Kenny

Doctor of Humane Letters

Philosopher; Master of Balliol College, Oxford University

Commencement Speaker

1986

Frederick W. Turner III

1959

Doctor of Humane Letters

Educator, Author, Historian

1987

Sen. John Hershel Glenn, Jr.

Doctor of Humane Letters

United States Senator, State of Ohio

Commencement Speaker

1987

E. Mavis Hetherington

Doctor of Science

James Page Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia

1988

John W. Alford

Doctor of Humane Letters

Former Chair, Park National Bank; Denison Life Trustee

1988

Carolyn Shaw Bell

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Economics, Wellesley College

1988

Ping-ti Ho

Doctor of Humane Letters

Historian

1988

Thomas Samuel Kuhn

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

1988

the Right Rev. Trevor Huddleston

Doctor of Humane Letters

Chair, International Defense Aid Fund for South Africa

1989

Raymond W. Apple, Jr.

Doctor of Humane Letters

Chief Washington Correspondent, The New York Times

1989

Johnnetta B. Cole

Doctor of Humane Letters

President, Spelman College

1989

Michael D. Eisner

1964

Doctor of Humane Letters

CEO, The Walt Disney Company

Commencement Speaker

1989

Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Divinity, Harvard University School of Divinity

1989

Sen. John Hershel Glenn, Jr.

Doctor of Humane Letters

United States Senator; Former Astronaut

Presented at the Honors Convocation

1989

the Right Rev. Trevor Huddleston

Doctor of Humane Letters

Chair, International Defense Aid Fund for South Africa

Presented at Baccalaureate

1989

Yo Yo Ma

Doctor of Fine Arts

Cellist

Presented at the Vail concert in September 1989

1990

General John T. Chain, Jr.

1956

Doctor of Humane Letters

Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command

1990

Karen W. Morse ‘62

Doctor of Science

Provost, Utah State University

Commencement Speaker

1990

Robert G. Turnbull

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, The Ohio State University

1991

Frederick C. Crawford

Doctor of Humane Letters

Honorary Director & Chair of the Board, TRW; Denison Life Trustee

Commencement Speaker

1991

Mary Hatwood Futrell

Doctor of Humane Letters

Former President, National Education Association

1991

Bharati Mukherjee

Doctor of Humane Letters

Writer

1992

Wendell E. Berry

Doctor of Humane Letters

Writer

1992

Sara Jane Fritz

1966

Doctor of Humane Letters

Washington Correspondent, The Los Angeles Times

Commencement Speaker

1993

Toni Cade Bambara

Doctor of Humane Letters

Writer

Commencement Speaker

1993

J. Thomas Dutro, Jr.

1944

Doctor of Science

Research Associate, Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior

1993

Cem Mehmet Kozlu

1969

Doctor of Laws

Member of Parliament, Turkish Grand National Assembly

1993

Cornel West

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Philosophy and African American Studies, Princeton University

1994

John C. Hammock

1966

Doctor of Laws

Executive Director, Oxfam America

Commencement Speaker

1994

Nthato Motlana

Doctor of Laws

Chair of the Board, Get Ahead Foundation

1994

Thekla Reese Shackelford

1956

Doctor of Humane Letters

Public Servant and Volunteer

1995

Louie P. Bellson

Doctor of Music

Percussionist

1995

William H. Bushnell

1959

Doctor of Arts

Theatrical Director, Producer, Educator

1995

Joan N. Huber

Doctor of Social Sciences

Sociologist

1995

Anna Quindlen

Doctor of Humane Letters

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Columnist, Novelist

Commencement Speaker

1995

John S. Rigden

Doctor of Science

Physicist

1996

Katherine Dunham

Doctor of Fine Arts

Dancer & Educator

1996

Charles P. Henry

1969

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor of Political Science, University of California at Berkeley

Commencement Speaker

1996

Janet Hyde

Doctor of Social Sciences

Professor of Psychology/Director of Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin

1997

Jerry Jordan

Doctor of Laws

President/CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

1997

Tony Kushner

Doctor of Humane Letters

Playwright

1997

Arnold Wesker

Doctor of Fine Arts

Playwright, Director

Commencement Speaker

1998

Peter R. Chaveas

1967

Doctor of Foreign Service

Political Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief, United States Forces in Europe; Former United States Ambassador to Malawi

1998

William & Kathleen Magee

Doctor of Public Health

Founders of “Operation Smile”

William Magee: Commencement Speaker

1998

James M. Petro

1970

Doctor of Public Administration

Auditor, State of Ohio

1998

Michele Tolela Myers

Doctor of Humanities

President, Denison University

1999

Henry B. Schacht

Doctor of Education

Warburg Pincus Ventures, Ltd. (Former head of Lucent Technologies)

Commencement Speaker

2000

Michael Berenbaum

Doctor of Humane Letters

Former President & CEO, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation

Commencement Speaker

2001

Mark Shields

Doctor of Journalism

Political Columnist and Commentator

Commencement Speaker

2001

David R. Williams

1975

Doctor of Science

Vision Science Researcher

2002

Tony Hall

1964

Doctor of Public Administration

Congressman & World-Hunger Advocate

2002

Stephen Holmes

Doctor of Education

Philosopher

2003

Edward G. Voss

1950

Doctor of Science

Philosopher

2004

Pamela Lynn Houston

1983

Doctor of Humane Letters

Author

2004

Jack Reeder Meyer

1967

Doctor of Social Sciences

Investment Manager

2004

Michael Hayden Armacost

Doctor of Laws

Ambassador, Foreign Policy Specialist

Commencement Speaker

2005

Margaret Lois Stuber

1975

Doctor of Science

Pediatric Psychiatrist

2005

David Barclay Waller

1970

Doctor of Laws

Atomic Energy Policy Expert

Commencement Speaker

2006

Wynton Marsalis

Doctor of Fine Arts

Musician, Humanitarian

Awarded at MLK Convocation, January 23, 2006

2006

Sylvia Hurtado

Doctor of Social Sciences

Director, Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA

Commencement Speaker

2006

Brad Tilson

1966

Doctor of Humane Letters

Retired President & CEO, Cox Publishing, and Civic Leader

2007

Douglas Holtz-Eakin

1980

Doctor of Laws

Director of Economic Policy, John McCain 2008; Former Director, Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Commencement Speaker

2007

Edward Zigler

Doctor of Science

Developmental Psychologist, Social Policy Maker

2008

Ralph J. Cicerone

Doctor of Science

Atmospheric Chemist, Climate Change Researcher; President, National Academy of Sciences

Commencement Speaker

2009

Ann Hagedorn

1971

Doctor of Humane Letters

Author

2009

Orlando L. Taylor

Doctor of Humane Letters

Scholar, Educator, Vice Provost for Research & Dean, Graduate School, Howard University

2010

Deborah Bial

Doctor of Social Sciences

President & Founder, The Posse Foundation

Commencement Speaker

2011

David H. Bayley

1955

Doctor of Humane Letters

Criminal Justice Expert, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, SUNY

Commencement Speaker

2012

Ellen Gould Chadwick

1975

Doctor of Humane Letters

Pediatric HIV Researcher

Commencement Speaker

2013

Dale Thomas Knobel

1971

Doctor of Letters

Retiring President, Denison University

Commencement Speaker

2014

Lawrence W. Sherman

1970

Doctor of Humane Letters

Criminologist

Commencement Speaker

2015

Deirdre N. McCloskey

Doctor of Humane Letters

Economist

Commencement Speaker

2016

Sister Helen Prejean

Doctor of Humane Letters

Activist against the Death Penalty

Commencement Speaker

2017

Scott C. Schurz

1957

Doctor of Humane Letters

Publisher and Philanthropist

2017

ETHEL (Ralph Howard Farris, Jr.; Corin William Lee, Christopher Edmund (Kip) Jones, Dorothy Margaret Elder Lawson)

Doctor of Humane Letters

Denison Ensemble-in-Residence

Commencement Speaker

2018

William M. Tuttle

1959

Doctor of Humane Letters

Professor Emeritus of American Studies, University of Kansas

2018

James D. Anderson

Doctor of Humane Letters

Dean of the College of Education, University of Illinois

Commencement Speaker

2019

Jennifer Garner

1994

Doctor of Humane Letters

Actor, entrepreneur, and advocate

Commencement Speaker

2021

Kelly Brown Douglas

1979

Doctor of Humane Letters

Theologian

Commencement Speaker (virtual)

2021

Alison Norris

Doctor of Science

Epidemiologist

2021

Peter Mohler

Doctor of Science

Epidemiologist

2021

Abigail Norris Turner

Doctor of Science

Epidemiologist

2022

Connie Schultz

Doctor of Humane Letters

Journalist

Commencement Speaker

2023

Mark Malloch-Brown

Doctor of Humane Letters

President - Open Society Foundation, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN

Commencement Speaker