Honorary Degrees & Citations

This list has been compiled from records in the President's Office, Office of Alumni Relations, and the College archives.

1891     C. E. Dowman     Doctor of Divinity
1908     Henry Elmer Bierly     Doctor of Literature
      James Perdue     Citation
1910     Josephus Anderson     Doctor of Laws
1911     L. W. Moore     Doctor of Divinity
      T. J. Nixon     Doctor of Divinity
      Ira S. Patterson     Doctor of Divinity
      S. M. Sparkman     Doctor of Laws
1926     William Benjamin Beauchamp     Doctor of Divinity
1927     R. Ira Barnett     Doctor of Laws
      Samuel H. G. Burgin     Doctor of Laws
      Elmer Talmadge Clark     Doctor of Laws
      Isaac C. Jenkins     Doctor of Divinity
1928     Bishop Hoyt M. Dobbs     Doctor of Literature
      Ivan Lee Holt     Doctor of Laws
      Leon P. McCord     Doctor of Humanities
      Marvin H. Norton     Doctor of Divinity
1929     Herbert J. Drane     Doctor of Laws
      Lincoln Hulley     Doctor of Education
      William A. Lambeth     Doctor of Literature
      Samuel Emory Thomasson     Doctor of Literature
      Hibbird Austin Tucker     Doctor of Laws
      A. Fred Turner     Doctor of Divinity
1930     Will W. Alexander     Doctor of Laws
      J. H. Daniels     Doctor of Divinity
      Oscar E. Rice     Doctor of Divinity
      Guy Everett Snavely     Doctor of Literature
      Y. C. Yang     Doctor of Laws
1932     Edwin Anderson     Doctor of Divinity
      John Ringling     Doctor of Laws
1933     Winslow S. Anderson     Doctor of Laws
      J. F. Bell     Doctor of Divinity
      Carl S. Cox     Doctor of Education
      H. J. Haeflinger     Doctor of Divinity
      John J. Tigert     Doctor of Literature
1934     Mrs. Roger Babson     Doctor of Education
      J. R. Cason     Doctor of Divinity
      Smith Hardin     Doctor of Divinity
      Bishop Samuel R. Hay     Doctor of Laws
      Harrison E. Howe     Doctor of Laws
      Mrs. J. D. Randall     Doctor of Humanities
      G. S. Roberts     Doctor of Divinity
1935     Paul Wesley Ellis     Doctor of Divinity
      William Preston Few     Doctor of Education
      Felix R. Hill, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      A. M. Hughlett     Doctor of Divinity
      John S. Taylor     Doctor of Laws
      B. A. Whitmore     Doctor of Laws
1936     Bowman F. Ashe     Doctor of Literature
      P. M. Boyd     Doctor of Divinity
      H. P. Carpenter     Doctor of Humanities
      Paul A. Fletcher     Doctor of Divinity
      Pat M. Neff     Doctor of Literature
      E. L. Robinson     Doctor of Laws
      James W. Workman     Doctor of Laws
1937     Robert Lee Allen     Doctor of Divinity
      Henry Webster Blackburn     Doctor of Divinity
      Francis Marvin Durrance     Doctor of Laws
      John Colin English     Doctor of Laws
      A. K. Fleming     Doctor of Laws
      Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes     Doctor of Humanities
      John Miller     Doctor of Divinity
      Ralph Washington Sockman     Doctor of Literature
      Alfred H. Wagg     Doctor of Laws
1938     Frederick Bohn Fisher     Doctor of Literature
      Welthy Honsinger Fisher     Doctor of Literature
      William Gregory Fletcher     Doctor of Divinity
      Frank Dreux Jackson     Doctor of Laws
      Curtis Hamilton Muncie     Doctor of Science
      Finley J. Patterson     Doctor of Divinity
      Isaiah Tillman Pearson     Doctor of Education
      Paul Quillian     Doctor of Laws
      Robert Z. Tyler     Doctor of Divinity
1939     Frederick Raymond Chenault     Doctor of Literature
      Henry Hitt Crane     Doctor of Laws
      Elam Carlton Doyle     Doctor of Humanities
      Henry Carter Hardin     Doctor of Divinity
      Harry Henry     Doctor of Divinity
      James D. Hurt     Doctor of Divinity
      Mary Lowe West     Master of Arts
1940     John Warren Branscomb     Doctor of Divinity
      Francis Dana Coman     Doctor of Laws
      George Elbert Farrar     Doctor of Divinity
      Ruel B. Gilbert     Doctor of Humanities
      Sir Wilfred Greenfell      
      John Wallace Hamilton     Doctor of Divinity
      John Louis Horton     Doctor of Divinity
      Paul McNutt     Doctor of Humanities
      Raimundo de Ovies     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas Vernor Smith     Doctor of Laws
1941     M. W. Carothers     Doctor of Laws
      Spessard L. Holland     Doctor of Laws
      Harold D. Meyer     Doctor of Laws
      Arthur J. Moore     Doctor of Laws
      Annie M. Pfeiffer     Doctor of Humanities
      Roy L. Smith     Doctor of Humane Letters
      J. H. Therrell     Doctor of Laws
      C. K. Vliet     Doctor of Divinity
1944     Robert C. Holmes     Doctor of Divinity
      Francis J. McConnell     Doctor of Literature
      Edward Julian Pendergrass     Doctor of Divinity
      T. T. Scott     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas George Walker     Doctor of Laws
      Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney     Doctor of Laws
      G. Floyd Zimmerman     Doctor of Laws
1945     John Kenneth Boulton-Jones     Doctor of Laws
      Millard Fillmore Caldwell     Doctor of Laws
      John Zabud Fletcher     Doctor of Laws
      Rembert Arthur Guy     Doctor of Divinity
      George Franklin Scott     Doctor of Divinity
      Harris Gordon Sims     Doctor of Laws
      Ray V. Sowers     Doctor of Laws
      Vilhjalmur Stefansson     Doctor of Literature
      Shelby Augustus Wilson     Doctor of Divinity
1946     Everett Ross Clinchy     Doctor of Laws
      Emile Emdon Watson     Doctor of Laws
      William Clarence Webster     Citation
      Herbert Edward Wolfe     Doctor of Laws
1947     Juan Jose Arevalo     Doctor of Laws
      Doak Sheridan Campbell     Doctor of Laws
      Jerome Davis     Doctor of Literature
      Benjamin Clifford Douglas Eckardt     Doctor of Laws
      Horace Threston Freeman, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      John Owen Gross     Doctor of Literature
      Perry Benjamin James, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Edward Elsworth Johnson     Doctor of Laws
      S. C. Olliff     Doctor of Divinity
      James Hardin Peterson     Doctor of Humanities
      Clifford H. Reason     Citation
      Garland Dee Runnels     Doctor of Laws
1948     Eleanor Steber Bilby     Doctor of Music
      Gordon Peter Campbell     Doctor of Laws
      Earl Evans     Doctor of Music
      William Ewart Gladstone Murray     Doctor of Laws
      Lewis Audubon Raulerson     Doctor of Laws
      William Pearson Tolley     Doctor of Education
1949     Thomas David Bailey     Doctor of Laws
      John Avery Guyton     Doctor of Laws
      Roy Hunter Short     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas John Watson     Doctor of Social Science
1950     Ernest Aubrey Bailey     Doctor of Laws
      Boris Blai     Doctor of Fine Arts
      Frederick W. Coffing     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas L. Dunbar     Doctor of Science
      Michael M. Engle     Citation
      Daniel J. McCarthy     Citation
      Clinton Vane McClurg     Doctor of Laws
      Frank Lloyd Wright     Doctor of Laws
1951     Emile DuBose Anthony, Sr.     Citation
      Henry Styles Bridges     Doctor of Literature
      Bruce Franklin Gannaway     Doctor of Divinity
      Stanley Grumbacher     Citation
      John Howard Hanger     Doctor of Divinity
      John William Horsey     Doctor of Laws
      Cyril Lord     Doctor of Laws
      Daniel Justin McCarthy     Doctor of Laws
      Don H. Murdoch     Doctor of Humanities
      Clifford Hamilton Reason     Doctor of Laws
      Richard Neil Stein     Master of Arts
      Joseph Augustus Tolle     Doctor of Divinity
1952     Alfred Raymond Barrios     Master of Arts
      John Philip Bell     Doctor of Laws
      Charles Francis Coe     Doctor of Laws
      Don Alvin Cooke     Doctor of Divinity
      Michael M. Engel     Doctor of Laws
      R. Barnwell Fuller     Doctor of Laws
      Albert Dale Hagler     Doctor of Divinity
      Nathan Alexander Perilman     Doctor of Laws
1953     Ford Christopher Frick     Doctor of Laws
      Laurel Irvin Geiszler     Master of Arts
      John Granville Stradley     Doctor of Divinity
      Kenneth Dale Wells     Doctor of Laws
1954     Nathan Cummings     Doctor of Laws
      Garfield Evans     Doctor of Divinity
      Joseph Raymond Fazzano     Doctor of Laws
      Sarann Butler Kazanjian     Doctor of Humanities
      James Magurno     Doctor of Humanities
      Kent McKinley     Doctor of Laws
      Lucius Pond Ordway     Doctor of Laws
      Francis Earl Shaw     Citation of Meritorious Service
1955     Clare Marden Cotton     Doctor of Divinity
      Lynn Farnol     Doctor of Laws
      Charles Warren Hawkins     Doctor of Laws
      Joseph Winstead Hicks     Doctor of Laws
      John Edwin Larson     Doctor of Laws
      Laurie Graydon Ray     Doctor of Divinity
      Letcher Frank Roper     Doctor of Laws
1956     Aston Aubra Almand     Doctor of Divinity
      Thomas Leroy Collins     Doctor of Laws
      John Milburn McLeod     Doctor of Divinity
      Thomas Henry Mitchell     Doctor of Laws
      Kenneth Gerald Rogers     Doctor of Divinity
      Hy Jordan Sobiloff     Doctor of Laws
      Lex King Souter     Doctor of Divinity
      Edgar Sullins Vaught     Doctor of Laws
1957     Henry Boris Burns     Doctor of Laws
      Eugene Clayton Calhoun, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Ray Clements     Doctor of Laws
      Millard Carson Cleveland     Doctor of Divinity
      Morris Fishbein     Doctor of Laws
      Claude McEuen Harden, Sr.     Doctor of Laws
      George Washington Jenkins     Doctor of Laws
      David Bernard Steinman     Doctor of Humanities
      Henry Melton Ware     Doctor of Divinity
1958     Ben Hill Griffin     Doctor of Laws
      Sidney Walter Martin     Doctor of Laws
      John Henry Teeter     Doctor of Laws
      Walter Winchell     Doctor of Humanities
1959     Harry Silett     Doctor of Laws
1960     Arthur James Armstrong     Doctor of Divinity
      Ernest Cuneo     Doctor of Laws
      Elizabeth Skinner Jackson     Master of Arts
      Christine McGuire     Master of Music
1961     Farris Bryant     Doctor of Laws
      Stanley Kresge     Doctor of Laws
      Victor Lee Rankin     Doctor of Divinity
1962     Raymond A. Alley     Doctor of Divinity
      Samuel M. Fleming     Doctor of Laws
1963     Gaylon Leon Howe     Doctor of Divinity
      Charles Coolidge Parlin     Doctor of Laws
1964     Milburn Peter Akers     Doctor of Laws
      W. Scott Bozeman     Doctor of Divinity
      John James Rooks     Doctor of Divinity
1965     Richard Holcomb Cooper     Doctor of Laws
      Marjorie Mitchell McKinley     Doctor of Fine Arts
1967     John William Donahoo     Doctor of Laws
      James W. Henley     Doctor of Divinity
      Benjamin Campbell Thornal     Doctor of Laws
1968     Charles Durward McDonell     Doctor of Divinity
      Wendell Phillips     Doctor of Business Administration
1969     Christiaan N. Barnard     Doctor of Science
      Andy Griffith     Doctor of Fine Arts
      Alfred Hedberg     Doctor of Divinity
1970     Lord Caradon     Doctor of Laws
1971     Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr.     Doctor of Laws
      C. Glenn Mingledorff     Doctor of Divinity
      Mary Duke Semans     Doctor of Fine Arts
1972     Reubin O’Donovan Askew     Doctor of Laws
      Harry J. Heeb     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Walter Nadeem Kalaf     Doctor of Divinity
1973     Howard J. Barnum, Jr.     Doctor of Science
      Bishop Robert M. Blackburn     Doctor of Laws
      Charles C. Edwards     Doctor of Laws
      Edna Hallett Ewerts     Honorary Alumna
      Charles Puryear Hamilton     Doctor of Divinity
      Gordon S. Hodgson     Doctor of Literature
      Bishop Joel D. McDavid     Doctor of Divinity
      Richard Warren Pearce     Doctor of Laws
      T. Terrell Sessums     Doctor of Laws
1974     George Washington English     Doctor of Laws
      James Marvin Sweat, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Eugene Morris Zimmerman     Doctor of Divinity
1975     Frances Langford Evinrude     Honorary Alumna
      Marion McCoy Gibbs     Doctor of Divinity
      Ethel McCullough Gray     Doctor of Humanities
      Paul Lambuth Hartsfield     Doctor of Divinity
      Bob Hope     Doctor of Humanities
      Richard Vernon Moore     Doctor of Laws
      Fletcher Gray Rush     Doctor of Laws
1976     Patrick Wyley McBride, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Ruth Springer Wedgworth     Doctor of Humanities
      Carl Eugene West     Doctor of Divinity
1977     John Lewis Hall     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas Calvin Kelsey     Doctor of Divinity
      James Thomas Laney     Doctor of Divinity
      Cushman Shelton Radebaugh     Doctor of Laws
      Eldon Simmons     Doctor of Divinity
1978     Earl J. McGrath     Doctor of Laws
      James Clayton Rowan     Doctor of Divinity
      Alfred Bryan Vaught     Doctor of Divinity
1979     Bascom W. Carlton     Doctor of Divinity
      Walter Cronkite     Doctor of Humanities
      Monroe C. Hatch     Doctor of Divinity
      William M. Hollis, Jr.     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Sean McBride     Doctor of Humane Letters
1980     Edward Lee Dinkins, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Marcus E. Drewa     Doctor of Science in Commerce
      David G. Hortin     Doctor of Divinity
      James Carlisle Rogers     Doctor of Laws
      James Hunter Williams     Doctor of Laws
      Warren Waite Willis     Doctor of Divinity
1981     Robert Bledsoe     Doctor of Divinity
      Jerome Hines     Doctor of Music
      Bishop Earl Gladstone Hunt, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Nelson C. White     Doctor of Science
1982     Roland Herbert Bainton     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Jameson Jones     Doctor of Divinity
      Prime F. Osborn     Doctor of Laws
      Arnold Palmer     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Carter Durwood Poland, Jr.     Doctor of Commerce
1983     Hugh Anderson     Doctor of Divinity
      John R. Harrison     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Jimmy S. Jones     Doctor of Divinity
      E. Ronal Mudd     Doctor of Divinity
      Edward W. Norman     Doctor of Divinity
      E. Cardon Walker     Doctor of Humane Letters
1984     Gerald R. Ford     Doctor of Laws
      George D. Kennedy     Doctor of Business
      Curtis Peterson     Doctor of Laws
      John Thomas Sofge, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Roland Vanzant     Doctor of Divinity
1985     Terrel H. Bell     Doctor of Laws
      Sayer Loyal Frisbie     Doctor of Letters
      Ann Hammond Hansen     Doctor of Science
      Mark C. Hollis     Doctor of Business Administration
      Nathan Milstein     Doctor of Music
      Thomas Glenn Mitchell     Doctor of Divinity
      Thomas Price     Doctor of Divinity
      Renata Scotto     Doctor of Music
1986     Dennis M. Campbell     Doctor of Divinity
      Thomas Marshall Hahn     Doctor of Laws
      D. Burke Kibler     Doctor of Laws
      Scott Linder     Doctor of Laws
      Thomas S. Monaghan     Doctor of Laws
      Nils M. Schweizer     Doctor of Humane Letters
1987     James Lloyd Knox     Doctor of Divinity
      Terence H. Waite     Doctor of International Laws
Presented in absentia to Canon S. J. Habiby
      James L. Waits     Doctor of Humane Letters
1988     Jack M. Berry     Doctor of Laws
      Harold Hasbrouck Hughes, Jr.     Doctor of Divinity
      Andrew P. Ireland     Doctor of Laws
      Charles Howard Jenkins, Sr.     Doctor of Laws
      John Philip Simon     Doctor of Divinity
1989     Elizabeth B. Castor     Doctor of Laws
      Sam T. Dell     Doctor of Laws
      Emerson Keith Ewing     Doctor of Divinity
      Robert Eugene Fannin     Doctor of Divinity
      Roger W. Ireson     Doctor of Humane Letters
      William Wesley Peters     Doctor of Architecture
      Robert Lawson Shaw     Doctor of Sacred Music
1990     George T. Crutchfield     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Margaret M. O’Shaugnessy Heckler     Doctor of Humanities
      Riley Phillips Short     Doctor of Divinity
1991     Ernest L. Boyer     Doctor of Laws
      Marie M. Miller     Doctor of Aeronautical Science
      Truman W. Miller     Doctor of Aeronautical Science
      Fred R. Millsaps     Doctor of Laws
      John M. Scheb     Doctor of Humane Letters
1992     John Charles Allanson Barrett     Doctor of Divinity
      Charles W. Courtoy     Doctor of Divinity
      Sir John Marks Templeton     Doctor of Humane Letters
1993     David T. Brewer     Doctor of Divinity
      Lynne V. Cheney     Doctor of Liberal Arts
      Arthur Lee Eberly, Jr.     Doctor of Science
1994     Winifred C. “Peggy” Brown     Doctor of Public Service
      Phyllis Davis     Doctor of Music
      Joe Hale     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Andrew H. Hines, Jr.     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Clark Maxwell, Jr.     Doctor of Laws
1995     William S."Bill” Barnes     Doctor of Divinity
      Bob Graham     Doctor of Public Service
      Lanier Upshaw     Doctor of Commerce
1996     Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Donald L. Kerrick     Doctor of Diplomacy
      Burton “Bud” Stone     Doctor of Science, Film Technology
      Dorotha Cunningham Tanner     Doctor of Humanitarian Service
1997     Frank Brogan     Doctor of Public Service
      Eleanor Honeyman Miller     Doctor of Music
      John Raymond Miller II     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Sandra B. Mortham     Doctor of Public Service
      Chris Wallace     Doctor of Humane Letters
1998     Carol Barnett     Doctor of Public Service
      Hoyt R. “Barney” Barnett     Doctor of Public Service
      J. Larry Durrence     Doctor of Public Service
      Gary Mason     Doctor of Divinity
      Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum     Citation
      George T. Miller     Doctor of Commerce
      James Robert Waller     Citation
      Charles E. Wilhelm     Doctor of Public Service
1999     Lawrence H. Fuchs     Doctor of Commerce
      Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.     Citation
      E. Vane McClurg     Doctor of Laws
      Marjorie H. Roberts     Doctor of Public Service
      Robert R. Sharp     Doctor of Business
      Richard J. Wills     Doctor of Divinity
2000     Nancy J. Aumann     Citation
      Charles T. Canady     Citation
      Duncan L. Gray     Doctor of Divinity
      R. Fred Lewis     Doctor of Public Service
      Charles W. “Jack” Sahlman     Doctor of Business
      Harold M. “Hal” Smeltzly     Citation
      Robert S. Trinkle     Doctor of Public Service
      Beverly D. Wolff     Doctor of Music
2001     Joan Buccino     Citation
      Hazel Haley     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Dan Johnson     Doctor of Divinity
      Eleanor Honeyman Miller     Citation
      John Raymond Miller II     Citation
      Adam Putnam     Citation
      Robert Arthur Riedel     Doctor of Business
      Chesterfield Smith     Doctor of Public Service
2002     Charles W. Courtoy     Citation
      Jerome King Del Pino     Doctor of Divinity
      Frank H. Furman, Jr.     Doctor of Public Service
      James Lloyd Knox     Citation
      Rodell F. Roberts     Citation
      Emiliano Jose "E. J." Salcines     Doctor of Laws
      Robert L. Ulrich     Citation
      Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker     Doctor of Humane Letters
      William Dean Witten     Doctor of Divinity
2003     Myles Brand     Doctor of Public Service
      James Quinton Rumph     Doctor of Public Service
2004     Marcene H. Christoverson     Doctor of Business
      Millard Fuller     Doctor of Public Service
      Lorraine L. Spivey     Doctor of Public Service
      John V. Verner     Doctor of Public Service
      Sally Prosser Verner     Doctor of Public Service
2005   Frances Mayes   Doctor of Humane Letters
    Roberta Peters   Doctor of Humane Letters
    Sarah Dukes McKay   Doctor of Public Service
2006     Sir Harold W. Kroto     Doctor of Science
      Robert A.M. Stern     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Robert S. Jepson, Jr.     Doctor of Business
2007     Robert MacLaurin MacDonald     Doctor of Music
      James Hadley Billington     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Louis Stephen Saco     Doctor of Public Service
      Madame Shao Fang Sheng     Doctor of Art
      Tom Morris     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Senator Bill Nelson     Doctor of Public Service
      Joe P. Ruthven     Doctor of Public Service
2008     Michael D. Griffin     Doctor of Public Service
      Robert L. Fryer, Jr.     Doctor of Public Service
      J. Hal Roberts, Jr.     Doctor of Laws
2009     G. Wayne Clough     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Alex Sink     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Bonnie Burnham     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Lester Wishnatzki     Doctor of Humane Letters
2010     Domingo Moreira     Doctor of Business
2011     H. Fisk Johnson     Doctor of Humane Letters
      R. William Becker     Doctor of Business
2012     Bonnie McElveen-Hunter     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Marcus M. Weinstein     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Steve Forbes     Doctor of Humane Letters
2013     John M. Fahey, Jr.     Doctor of Humane Letters
      John A. Rodda     Doctor of Business
2014     Ted Turner     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Ted Bell     Doctor of Humane Letters
      H. Kenneth Walker     Doctor of Humane Letters
      T. Boone Pickens     Doctor of Humane Letters
2015     David P. Lyons     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Abbe Raven     Doctor or Humane Letters
2016     Nicholas Sparks     Doctor of Humane Letters
      John C. Maxwell     Doctor of Business
      W. Edwin Crenshaw     Doctor of Business
      Jürgen Moltmann     Doctor of Divinity
2017     Glenn Lowry     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Craig Menear     Doctor of Business
      Gerard Baker     Doctor of Business
      Robert Puterbaugh     Doctor of Humane Letters
2018     Richard Smucker     Doctor of Business
      Guy Harvey     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Patrick Geraghty     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Sherry Magill     Doctor of Humane Letters
2019     John Ferriola     Doctor of Business
      Mae Jemison     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Charles T. Canady     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Richard C. Jensen     Doctor of Business
      Richard T. Fulton     Doctor of Humane Letters
2020     Todd Jones     Doctor of Business
2021     Ann B. Edwards     Doctor of Humane Letters
      A. Ward Edwards, Jr.     Doctor of Humane Letters
2022     Carole M. Weinstein     Doctor of Humane Letters
      Richard Thompson     Doctor of Business
      Thomas L. Williams     Doctor of Humane Letters