Honorary Degrees

Name of Honor: Honorary Degree

Established: 1868

Awarded by: The Board of Trustees

Criteria: Honorary degrees awarded by St. Lawrence University signify recognition of exemplary accomplishment consistent with the traditions and values of this liberal arts learning community. Recipients serve as models for our students as they respond to the question posed by the distinguished Laurentian Owen D. Young: "Have you enlarged your knowledge of obligations and your capacity to perform them?" The University should consider the following criteria in the selection of honorary degree candidates.

  1. Recognized achievement in scholarship, the arts, business or professional life; or
  2. Distinguished humanitarian, altruistic, or philanthropic service; or
  3. Distinctive contributions to a regional, national, or global community; and
  4. Abiding interest in St. Lawrence University and/or its mission of providing an inspiring and demanding undergraduate education in the liberal arts. 

Eligibility: Because St. Lawrence has programs to honor those formally affiliated with the University, barring exceptional circumstances, current employees and trustees will not be considered for an honorary degree. Further, honorary degrees normally will not be awarded to individuals whose political position, financial resources or celebrity alone bring them to our attention.

Selection process: Nominations are accepted anytime from the campus and alumni communities. An on-campus honors committee reviews nominations based on materials submitted and research developed by campus staff. After the on-campus committee recommends a candidate or candidates, they will be brought by one of the committee's faculty representatives to the entire faculty for a vote of recommendation. Following this vote, candidates are ready to be considered either by the full Board of Trustees or the Executive Committee, acting on behalf of the Board.

Successful candidates would not necessarily be offered honorary degrees in the same year in which they are approved, given the desirability of various kinds of balance among recipients in any given year. Opportunity for presentation: Chiefly at Commencement.

Questions? Contact John Christopher, jchristopher@stlawu.edu.

Complete the Honorary Degree Nomination Form

Honorary Degree Recipients

2024
Kathleen Fitzgerald
Doctor of Humane Letters

2023
Gina Kingsbury '04
Doctor of Humane Letters

2022
President Emeritus William L. Fox ’75
Doctor of Humane Letters

Lynn Smith Fox
Doctor of Humane Letters

Grant H. Cornwell Jr. ’79
Doctor of Humane Letters

2021
Terry Fulmer
Doctor of Humane Letters

2019
Jeffery Boyd '76
Doctor of Laws

Susan L. Washburn
Doctor of Humane Letters

2018
Melanie Smeallie Mbuyi '77
Doctor of Humane Letters
International Economist

Haruyoshi "Yoshi" Udagawa '74
Doctor of Humane Letters
Leader in International Education

2017
Sen. Susan M. Collins
Doctor of Humane Letters
Senior U.S. Senator - Maine

Jane (Breckenridge) Eisner '64
Doctor of Humane Letters
President, The Eisner Foundation

Richard Guarasci, Ph.D.
Doctor of Humane Letters
Founding Director, SLU First Year Program
National Leader in Higher Education

2016
Charles Aquadro '75
Doctor of Science
Professor and population geneticist

Katherine Clark '85
Doctor of Humane Letters
US Congresswoman

William Torrey '53 (remarks not available)
Doctor of Humane Letters
Sports Management

2015
Peter Hatch P'15
Doctor of Humane Letters
Garden Historian, Historical Landscape Consultant

John Angelo '63
Doctor of Humane Letters
Pioneer in Hedge Fund Industry

Judy Hart Angelo '63
Doctor of Humane Letters
Songwriter

Jane Forbes Clark
Doctor of Humane Letters
Chair, Board of Directors for the National Baseball Hall of Fame
President, Clark Foundation

2014
Grace Potter
Bachelor of Arts
Musician, philanthropist

Donald K. Rose '64
Doctor of Humane Letters
Scientist, executive, Chair of the Board of St. Lawrence University

Susan Talve '74
Doctor of Humane Letters
Rabbi, social activist, humanitarian

2013
Roger Ferguson
Doctor of Humane Letters

Joseph Kennedy
Doctor of Humane Letters

John O'Shea '74
Doctor of Science

2012
Mary DiSanto-Rose '75
Doctor of Arts

Garry Trudeau
Doctor of Humane Letters

2011
Tom Brokaw
Doctor of Humane Letters

Richard Brush
Doctor of Humane Letters

Archie MacAllaster
Doctor of Humane Letters

David Torrey
Doctor of Humane Letters

2010
The Reverend Professor Peter Gomes
Doctor of Divinity

The Honorable Sonia Sotomayor

Chase Twichell
Doctor of Humane Letters

2009
Daniel F. Sullivan '65
Doctor of Humane Letters

Richard Fairbanks '72, Dale Chayes '73, Peter deMenocol '82 and Miriam Katz '81
Doctor of Science

Carol Geary Schneider
Doctor of Humane Letters

Allen P. Splete '60
Doctor of Humane Letters

Larry Winston '60
Doctor of Humane Letters

2008
Kevin Klose
Doctor of Humane Letters

Carol Newell '79
Doctor of Humane Letters

David Warren
Doctor of Humane Letters

2007
Jane Hamilton
Doctor of Literature

Dr. Robert Montgomery '82
Doctor of Science

Jeanne Narum
Doctor of Humane Letters 

2006
The Reverend Richard Gilbert '58
Doctor of Humane Letters

Viggo Mortenson '80
Doctor of Arts

Barbara Tewksbury '73
Doctor of Science

2005
The Reverend Joan Brown Campbell
Doctor of Humane Letters

John R. Cook Jr. '70
Doctor of Humane Letters

William Kennedy
Doctor of Literature

2004
Karen Hitchcock '64
Doctor of Humane Letters

Mark Klett '74
Doctor of Art

Marie L. 'Lorrie" Moore '78
Doctor of Literature

2003
Denny Brown
Doctor of Humane Letters

Ralph Cohen 
Doctor of Literature

Sharada Nayak
Doctor of Humane Letters

2002
Luis Eduardo Luna 
Doctor of Humane Letters

Gloria Naylor
Doctor of Literatures

E. B. Wilson '53
Doctor of Humane Letters

2001
Richard E. Hecklinger '65
Doctor of Letters

Michael E. Hoffman '64 
Doctor of Arts

Barbara R. Williams 
Doctor of Social Sciences

2000
Alexander String Quartet
Doctor of Music

Tantoo Cardinal 
Doctor of Arts

Tracey McNamara '76
Doctor of Science