Honorary Degree Recipients

2024

Peter A. Kadens, Doctor of Humane Letters
Marsha Oberrieder, Doctor of Humane Letters
Andrea Sáenz, Doctor of Public Service

2023
Rebecca Makkai, Doctor of Letters
William Sullivan Peyton, Class of 1907 First Black Graduate, bestowed posthumously, Doctor of Science
Julianne Sitch, Doctor of Liberal Arts

2022
Stephen D. Schutt, Doctor of Liberal Arts

2019
Bridget Coughlin, Doctor of Science
Joseph Ferguson ’81, Doctor of Laws
Dorri McWhorter, Doctor of Humane Letters

2018
Jane Hamilton, Doctor of Letters
Gary T. Johnson, Doctor of Liberal Arts
Teepu Siddique, MD, Doctor of Science

2017
Evelyn Diaz, Doctor of Humane Letters
Tom Ricketts,  Doctor of Letters

2016
David Axelrod - Doctor of Laws
Randy Lamm Berlin ’75 - Doctor of Letters
Dawn Turner - Doctor of Letters

2015
Steve Chapman - Doctor of Letters
Diana Nyad ’73 - Doctor of Humane Letters
Tamara A. Smith ’80 - Doctor of Humane Letters

2014
Rabiah Mayas - Doctor of Science
Rev. Christine Chakoian - Doctor of Letters
Kelly Leonard ’88 - Doctor of Fine Arts

2013
Connie K. Duckworth -  Doctor of Humane Letters
Stuart Dybek - Doctor of Letters
Stephen Schwartz - Doctor of Fine Arts

2012
Philip O. Geier - Doctor of Letters
Susan Garrett ’94 - Doctor of Laws
Robert D. Krebs - Doctor of Laws
Richard A. Posner - Doctor of Laws

2011
Richard Armstrong ’71 - Doctor of Fine Arts
Mary J.C. Hendrix - Doctor of Science
Regina Taylor - Doctor of Fine Arts

2010
Rebecca Claire Gilman -  Doctor of Literature
Grace Elizabeth Groner ’31 -  Doctor of Humane Letters
Darlene Clark Hine -  Doctor of Letters
Daniel Mark Gross -  Doctor of Letters 

2009
Barbara Gaines -  Doctor of Fine Arts
Peter G. Schiff ’74 -  Doctor of Laws
Scott F. Turow -  Doctor of Letters

2008
Scott Simon -  Doctor of Humane Letters
Danielle S. Allen -  Doctor of Laws
Janet D. Rowley -  Doctor of Science
Maria Velez de Berliner ’87 -  Doctor of Laws

2007
Robert Pinsky -  Doctor of Letters
Susan E. Mayer -  Doctor of Laws
Yasuhiro Moriuchi ’68 -  Doctor of Humane Letters
Lovie L. Smith -  Doctor of Humane Letters

2006
Marsha E. Barnes ’69 -  Doctor of Laws
Kahil El’Zabar ’77 -  Doctor of Fine Arts
Samuel J. Henry -  Doctor of Laws
Robert A. Falls -  Doctor of Fine Arts 

2005
Dr. Richard Joel Ablin ’62 -  Doctor of Science 
Lonnie G. Bunch -  Doctor of Letters
Lillian Groag -  Doctor of Fine Arts

2004
Laurence R. Lee -  Doctor of Laws 
The Honorable Blanche M. Manning -  Doctor of Laws 
Ralph J. Mills Jr. ’54 -  Doctor of Letters 
José A. “Pepe” Vargas -  Doctor of Fine Arts 

2003
L. Natalie Caroll ’71 -  Doctor of Science 
Arne Duncan -  Doctor of Laws 
Peggy A. Lautenschlager ’77 -  Doctor of Laws 
David B. Mathis ’60 -  Doctor of Laws 

2002
Deborah Leff -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Carl Lorenzo MaultsBy ’69 -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Cass R. Sunstein -  Doctor of Laws 
Studs Terkel -  Doctor of Letters 

2001
Sidney Altman -  Doctor of Science 
Jean Bethke Elshtain -  Doctor of Letters 
Walter Andrew Hill -  Doctor of Science 
Marcy Scott -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
David Spadafora -  Doctor of Letters 

2000
Marcia Ann Gillespie ’66 -  Doctor of Letters 
John J. McDonough -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
John Edward Porter -  Doctor of Laws 
Geoffrey Benson Shields -  Doctor of Laws 

1999
H.R.H. Irene, Princess of Greece -  Doctor of Humane Letters
Paula Polk Lillard -  Doctor of Letters 
Ingram Douglass Marshall ’64 -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
John W. Rogers Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 

1998
Don Patricio Aylwin -  Doctor of Laws 
William C. Bartholomay ’55 -  Doctor of Laws 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi -  Doctor of Science 
Rebecca McGowan ’70 -  Doctor of Laws 

1997
Russell W. Fisher -  Doctor of Laws 
Alice Judson Hayes -  Doctor of Letters 
Lloyd J. Ogilvie ’52 -  Doctor of Divinity 
Ruth J. Simmons -  Doctor of Laws 

1996
William Graham Cole -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Barbara Goldsmith -  Doctor of Letters 
James A. Lovell Jr. -  Doctor of Science 
Edith Waisbrot Martin ’67 -  Doctor of Science 

1995
Adele Chatfield Taylor -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Thomas H. Jacobsen ’63 -  Doctor of Laws 
Vincent Lane -  Doctor of Laws
Hugo F. Sonnenschein -  Doctor of Laws 

1994
Virginia Fiester Frederick -  Doctor of Laws 
James P. Gorter -  Doctor of Laws 
Gayle Pemberton ’70 -  Doctor of Letters 
Christopher S. Wren -  Doctor of Letters 

1993
Paul J. Adams III -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Ann Donnelley Hardy -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Eugene Hotchkiss -  Doctor of Laws 
Bill Kurtis -  Doctor of Laws 
Don Carlos Manzanares -  Doctor of Laws 

1992
Jill Ker Conway -  Doctor of Letters
Hiroshi Iwamoto ’61 -  Doctor of Laws 
Norman F. Ramsey -  Doctor of Science 

1991
Sigvard G. Gissler ’56 -  Doctor of Laws 
Donald P. Jacobs -  Doctor of Laws 
Anita Chen Li ’57 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Charlotte Head Simmons -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Frederick Wiseman -  Doctor of Fine Arts 

1990
Wesley M. Dixon Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 
James Farmer -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Eilene M. Galloway -  Doctor of Laws 
Stephen W. Gray ’36 -  Doctor of Science 

1989
Ardis Krainik -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Clarence Page -  Doctor of Letters 
Samuel Knox Skinner -  Doctor of Laws 
Robert Douglas Stuart Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 

1988
Leon M. Lederman -  Doctor of Science 
George Irving Shirley -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Jerome W. Van Gorkom -  Doctor of Laws 
Fern D. Young -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1987
Albert Blake Dick III -  Doctor of Laws 
William M. Dyal Jr. -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Robert E. Wallenborn ’27 -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Ann C. Williams -  Doctor of Laws 

1986
Victor Aitay -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Barbara Proctor -  Doctor of Letters 
John Rutledge ’70 -  Doctor of Laws 
Ruth Winter -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1985
Vernon D. Jarrett -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Lisel Mueller -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Philip L. Speidel ’19 -  Doctor of Laws 

1984
Joseph A. Gore -  Doctor of Laws 
Arthur G. Hailand Jr. -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Floyd Kalber -  Doctor of Laws 
Glenn K. Seidenfeld ’35 -  Doctor of Letters 

1983
William B. Graham -  Doctor of Laws 
Grace Murray Hopper -  Doctor of Science 
Charles A. Meyer -  Doctor of Laws 
Anna L. Standard ’45 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1982
Marva N. Collins -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
George F. Kennan -  Doctor of Laws 
Robert McClory -  Doctor of Laws 
Richard Wilbur -  Doctor of Letters 

1981
John B. Anderson -  Doctor of Laws 
Walter E. Massey -  Doctor of Science 
Ginc Odell -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Mike Royko -  Doctor of Letters 

1980
Georgie Anne Geyer -  Doctor of Letters 
George S. Halas -  Doctor of Laws 
Margaret Hillis -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Foster G. McGaw -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1979
Charles L. Brown -  Doctor of Laws 
Shirley Knight Hopkins -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
George E. Johnson -  Doctor of Laws 
Franklin McMahon -  Doctor of Fine Arts 

1978
Mortimer J. Adler -  Doctor of Literature 
Arthur L. Burnes -  Doctor of Science 
Carla Anderson Hills -  Doctor of Laws 
Benjamin L. Hooks -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1977
George R. Beach -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Edith Foster Farwell -  Doctor of Science 
Theodor Seuss Geisel -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Thomas J. Moran ’47 -  Doctor of Laws 
Cecil A. Partee -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Ernest H. Volwiler -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1976
Benjamin C. Bradlee -  Doctor of Letters 
Paul H. Burgert -  Doctor of Science 
John H. Haugh ’31 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
M. Allen Kimble -  Doctor of Divinity 
Adele Smith Simmons -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1975
Edwin Asmann ’28 -  Doctor of Science 
Margaret Burke -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Ruth Page -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Donald Rumsfeld  -  Doctor of Laws 
Miller Upton -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1974
Wade Langdon Hampton ’29 -  Doctor of Laws 
Jewel Stradford Lafontant -  Doctor of Laws 
Marion Musser Lloyd -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Richard Buell Ogilvie -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1973
John Hope Franklin -  Doctor of Letters 
Alan Frank Guttmacher -  Doctor of Laws 
David Halberstam -  Doctor of Laws 
Beatrice Edna Tucker -  Doctor of Science 
Richard ’36 Widmark -  Doctor of Fine Arts 

1972
Ivan Albright -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Richard Howard Hunt -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
John Reich -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Louis Sudler -  Doctor of Letters 

1971
Albert Victor Crewe -  Doctor of Science 
Jesse Louis Jackson -  Doctor of Divinity 
Maria Tallchief Paschen -  Doctor of Fine Arts 
Samuel Weiler Witwer -  Doctor of Juridical Science 

1970
Mary Longbrake ’35 -  Doctor of Laws 
Mary Van Etten Ward -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Payson Sibley Wild -  Do c tor of Letters 
Frank H. Woods -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1969
James A. Campbell -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Harold Harlow Corbin Jr. -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Glen A. Lloyd -  Doctor of Laws 
William R. Polk -  Doctor of Laws 
Ellen Thorne Smith -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1968 
William Edward Hartmann -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Edward Hirsch Levi -  Doctor of Laws 
Appleton A. Mason Jr. -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Harold Rosenberg -  Doctor of Letters 
Mies van der Rohe -  Doctor of Letters 

1967
David Matthew Kennedy -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Norman Ross -  Doctor of Letters 
Charles G. Sauers -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
George Berkeley Young -  Doctor of Laws 

1966
Ben Walter Heineman -  Doctor of Laws 
Nicholas Michael Lattof -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Julian Hirsch Levi -  Doctor of Laws 
Barbara Ward -  Doctor of Laws 
Orlando Winfield Wilson -  Doctor of Laws 
Suzette Morton Zurcher -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1965
Paul M. Angle -  Doctor of Laws 
Gwendolyn Brooks -  Doctor of Letters 
Elliott Donnelley -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Edwin L. Gilroy ’18 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Huston Smith -  Doctor of Science 
Lawrence W. Towner -  Doctor of Letters 

1964
Jane Warner Dick -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Edward D. McDougal Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 
Francis T.P. Plimpton -  Doctor of Laws 
Herbert Victor Prochnow -  Doctor of Laws 

1963
Jean Beliard -  Doctor of Laws 
William McCormick Blair -  Doctor of Letters 
Alicia Patterson -  Doctor of Letters 
Carroll H. Sudler -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Irvin L. Young ’26 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1962
George W. Beadle -  Doctor of Science 
Harry D. Gideonse -  Doctor of Laws 
Kermit Gordon -  Doctor of Laws 
Richard H. Hutchison -  Doctor of Divinity 
Charles H. Percy -  Doctor of Laws 
William C. Petty -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1961
Lowell T. Coggeshall -  Doctor of Laws 
Carol Fox -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
John Howard Wood ’22 -  Doctor of Laws 

1960
E. Fay Campbell -  Doctor of Divinity 
Marguerite Stitt Church -  Doctor of Laws 
Philip R. Clarke -  Doctor of Laws 

1959 
Harold Blake Walker -  Doctor of Letters of Humanity 
James Carson Worthy ’52 -  Doctor of Laws 

1958
James Franklin Oates Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 
Frederick Fairchild Quinlan -  Doctor of Laws 
Harold H. Viehman -  Doctor of Divinity 

1957
Arthur Holly Compton -  Doctor of Science 
Herbert Lawrence Block ’31 -  Doctor of Laws 
Arnold W. Carlson ’28 -  Doctor of Laws 
Richard Ashton Dempsey -  Doctor of Divinity 
Joseph Barclay Fleming -  Doctor of Laws 
Clarence B. Randall -  Doctor of Laws 
Robert E. Wood -  Doctor of Laws 

1956
Detlev W. Bronk -  Doctor of Science 
Wendell Q. Halverson -  Doctor of Divinity 

1955
Everett Dwight Graff 1906 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Lawrence Alpheus Kimpton -  Doctor of Laws 
John Wesley McCracken -  Doctor of Humane Letters 

1954
Elven James Berkheiser 1909 -  Doctor of Science 
Eugene Carson Blake -  Doctor of Divinity 
Walter Vincent Schaefer -  Doctor of Laws 

1953
James Henderson Douglas Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 
R. Douglas Stuart -  Doctor of Laws 

1952
Sylvia Shaw Judson -  Doctor of Sculpture 
Robert E. Wilson ’12 -  Doctor of Laws 
Harold T. Wilson -  Doctor of Divinity 

1951
Paul Howard Douglas -  Doctor of Laws 
Robert King Hall ’34 -  Doctor of Laws 
Frank William Read -  Doctor of Laws 

1950 
Vincent Frank Coleman ’32 -  Doctor of Laws 
Franklyn Bliss Snyder -  Doctor of Laws 

1949
Chester Rudolph Davis ’17 -  Doctor of Laws 
Carl Raymond Gray Jr. -  Doctor of Laws 
Adlai Ewing Stevenson -  Doctor of Laws 

1948
Lilace Reid Barnes -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
George Dinsmore Stoddard -  Doctor of Laws 

1947
Dwight H. Green -  Doctor of Laws 
Charles C. Mather ’14 -  Doctor of Pedagogy 
William McInnes -  Doctor of Divinity 

1946
Raymond Bernard Allen -  Doctor of Laws 
S. DeWitt Clough -  Doctor of Laws 

1945
Lewis H. Brown -  Doctor of Laws 
Robert H. Crozier 1893 -  Doctor of Laws 
Clarence W. Diver 1905 -  Doctor of Laws 
John F. Haas 1900 -  Doctor of Laws 
Raymond Moore ’20 -  Doctor of Pedagogy 
Robert Bowman Stewart -  Doctor of Divinity 

1944
Evan A. Evans 1894 -  Doctor of Laws 

1943
Clarence A. Dykstra -  Doctor of Laws 

1942
Alan Valentine -  Doctor of Laws 

1941
George Wm. Dowrie 1901 -  Doctor of Laws 
Hu Shih -  Doctor of Laws 

1940
Joseph R. Sizoo -  Doctor of Laws 

1939
Hayne Ellis -  Doctor of Laws 
Alfred E. Hamill -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
R. Lincoln Long ’12 -  Doctor of Divinity 
Oliver Scott Thompson 1904 -  Doctor of Humane Letters 
Edward A. Weeks -  Doctor of Literature 

1938
Preston Bradley - Doctor of Laws 
Ralph H. Bush ’11 -  Doctor of Laws 

1937
Glenn Frank -  Doctor of Laws 
Paul Starrett -  Doctor of Laws 

1936
Frank Knox -  Doctor of Laws 
Charles Thom 1895 -  Doctor of Science 
Andrew C. Zenos -  Doctor of Literature 

1935
Wat T. Cluverius -  Doctor of Laws 
Francis S. Hutchins -  Doctor of Laws 

1934
Homer S. Cummings -  Doctor of Laws 

1933
Harold L. Ickes -  Doctor of Laws 

1931
Walter S. Brewster -  Master of Arts 
Flora J. Cooke -  Master of Arts 
John Henry S. Lee 1895 -  Doctor of Laws 
James Weber Linn -  Doctor of Literature 
William H. Marbach ’12 -  Doctor of Divinity 

1930
John Edw. Carver 1897 -  Doctor of Divinity 
William D. MacMillan 1892 -  Doctor of Science 
Herbert Wm. Prince -  Doctor of Divinity 
John S. Zelie -  Doctor of Literature 

1929
Walter J. Kohler -  Doctor of Laws 
James G.K. McClure -  Doctor of Laws 
James G. Needham -  Doctor of Science 

1928
Calvin H. French 1888 -  Doctor of Divinity 
Silas Hardy Strawn -  Doctor of Laws 

1927
John Timothy Stone -  Doctor of Laws 
Eloise R. Tremain -  Master of Arts 

1926
John Rogers Commons -  Doctor of Laws 
Siegfried Gruenstein 1899 -  Master of Arts 

1925
William W. Comfort -  Doctor of Laws 
David Fales 1896 -  Doctor of Laws 
John A. MacIntosh -  Doctor of Laws 
Angus Sillars -  Doctor of Divinity 

1924
John M. Coulter -  Doctor of Science 
William D. Forbes 1880 -  Doctor of Divinity 
William Mather Lewis 1900 -  Doctor of Laws 

1923
Cornelius Betten 1900 -  Doctor of Science 
William H. Humiston 1891 -  Master of Science 
Burtis MacHatton 1895 -  Doctor of Divinity 
Harry Olson -  Doctor of Laws 

1922
George R. Baker -  Doctor of Divinity
Newell Dwight Hillis 1884 -  Doctor of Laws 
George Roberts -  Doctor of Divinity 

1921
Dean Lewis 1895 -  Master of Laws
Henry Dale White 1909 -  Doctor of Divinity

1919
Ralph H. Bush ’11 -  Master of Arts

1918
Albert C. Wenban -  Master of Philosophy

1917
George Wm. Wright 1892 -  Doctor of Divinity

1913
Clifford W. Barnes -  Doctor of Laws
Henry Marcotte 1893 -  Doctor of Divinity

1912
Hobart C. Chatfield Taylor -  Doctor of Literature

1910
Graham Lee -  Doctor of Divinity 

1907
Edward E. Nourse 1888 -  Doctor of Divinity

1903
Paul David Bergen -  Doctor of Divinity

1901
Louis Edwards Holden -  Doctor of Laws

1900
W. C. Barrett -  Doctor of Laws

1898
Washington A. Nichols -  Doctor of Divinity

1897
Charles N. Johnson -  Master of Arts

1895
Truman W. Brophy -  Doctor of Laws

1891
Arthur Judson Brown -  Doctor of Divinity
August F. Bruske -  Doctor of Divinity
William E. Moore -  Doctor of Laws

1890
John Thomas Duffield -  Doctor of Laws
Edward C. Sickels -  Doctor of Divinity

1889
Norman Bridge -  Master of Arts
William Justin Harsha -  Doctor of Divinity
Robert W. Patterson -  Doctor of Laws

1888
William H. Byford -  Doctor of Laws
Henry Salisbury Jerome -  Master of Arts
James G.K. McClure -  Doctor of Divinity

1886
Joseph Milton Greene -  Doctor of Divinity

1885
Ambrose C. Smith -  Doctor of Divinity

1882
John H. Barrows -  Doctor of Divinity
George F. Selby -  Master of Arts

1881
Thomas C. Easton -  Doctor of Divinity
Gideon P. Nichols -  Doctor of Divinity
Mark Skinner -  Doctor of Laws

1880
Thomas G. Smith -  Doctor of Divinity
John B. Stewart -  Doctor of Divinity