Honorary degrees from the University of Louisville serve multiple purposes: they honor recipients, integrate them into the university community, and showcase the values and achievements esteemed by the institution. Essentially, they provide a measure by which the university can be evaluated by the world.
Recipients are chosen for their significant contributions to the university or community, their influence on relevant fields of study, or their ability to positively highlight the university's reputation.
Below is a list of the recipients who have been awarded Honorary Degrees.
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
12/15/2016 | David | Williams | Doctor of Humane Letter |
3/30/2015 | Ulyssis Junior | Bridgeman | Doctor of Public Service |
3/30/2015 | Doris | Bridgeman | Doctor of Public Service |
2/11/2015 | John | Codey | Doctor of Public Service |
4/17/2014 | Sam | Swope | Doctor of Public Service |
10/22/2013 | Harold | Unkelbach | Doctor of Public Service |
10/22/2013 | Joesph | Prather | Doctor of Public Service |
5/1/2013 | Henry | Heuser, Jr. | Doctor of Public Service (Honoris Causa) |
5/1/2013 | Howard | Fineman | Doctor of Humanities (Honoris Causa) |
11/19/2012 | Heddy | Kurz | Doctor or Humane Letter |
5/12/2012 | Bernard | Trager | Doctor of Public Service |
5/12/2012 | Jean | Trager | Doctor of Public Service |
11/10/2011 | Karel | Husa | Doctor of Fine Arts |
3/3/2010 | APJ Abdul | Kalam | Doctor of Letters |
3/3/2010 | Robert | Doherty | Doctor of Fine Arts |
12/13/2009 | Paul | Patton | Doctor of Public Service |
12/13/2009 | Henry "Hank" | Wagner | Doctor of Public Service |
12/13/2007 | Sheikh | Awad Mohammed | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/13/2006 | Arthur | Dugoni | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/13/2006 | William | Yasnoff | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/13/2006 | Ray | Harm | Doctor of Arts |
2/22/2005 | Diane | Sawyer | Doctor of Journalism |
2/22/2005 | Martha | Haake | Doctor of Public Service |
2/22/2005 | Mike | Nichols | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/28/2004 | Ed | Hamilton | Doctor of Arts |
4/1/2004 | Condoleezza | Rice | Doctor of Public Service |
5/10/2003 | Richard | Carmona | Doctor of Public Service |
5/10/2003 | Lolita | Weakley | Doctor of Public Service |
5/10/2003 | Samuel | Weakley | Doctor of Public Service |
12/1/2002 | Colin | Powell | Doctor of Public Service |
8/18/2002 | Richard | Green | Doctor of Public Service |
5/12/2001 | Robert L. | Nardelli | Doctor of Business Administration |
5/12/2001 | Mary D. | Rowntree | Doctor of Education |
12/17/2000 | Malcolm | Chancey, Jr. | Doctor of Public Services |
11/10/2000 | James L. | O'Sullivan | Doctor of Humane Letter |
9/28/2000 | John Robert | Wooden | Doctor of Public Service |
5/14/2000 | Lonnie | Ali | Doctor of Public Service |
5/14/2000 | Muhammad | Ali | Doctor of Public Service |
5/14/2000 | Donna | Shalala | Doctor of Public Service |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
11/1/1999 | Owsley Brown | Frazier | Doctor of Public Service |
5/8/1999 | Maria L. | Bouvette | Doctor of Business Administration |
5/8/1999 | Abigail Castro | de Perez | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/8/1999 | Marc | Maurer | Doctor of Laws |
5/8/1999 | Francis | Mouyen | Doctor of Science |
3/26/1999 | William R. | Green | Doctor of Science |
9/16/1998 | Yancey Lee | Watkins | Doctor of Public Service |
5/9/1998 | Jerry | Lewis | Doctor of Public Service |
5/9/1998 | Marvin | Smith | Doctor of Arts |
10/9/1997 | Walter | Creese | Doctor of Humane Letter |
9/17/1997 | Frank | Harary | Doctor of Science |
9/17/1997 | Lotfi | Zadeh | Doctor of Science |
5/10/1997 | James C. | Bowling | Doctor of Business Administration |
5/10/1997 | John R. | Hall | Doctor of Public Service |
4/3/1997 | Marian Wright | Edelman | Doctor of Public Service |
2/20/1997 | Creighton E. | Gilbert | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/12/1996 | Bernard A. | Dahlem | Doctor of Science |
5/12/1996 | Frank | Walbank | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/12/1996 | Elaine | Chao | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/12/1996 | Sharon Porter | Robinson | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/13/1995 | Marion | McKenna | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1995 | Enid A. | Neidle | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1995 | Robert | Rounsavall, Jr. | Doctor of Public Service |
5/13/1995 | Donald C. | Swain | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/15/1994 | Houston | Baker | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/15/1994 | Claire | Caudill | Doctor of Public Service |
5/15/1994 | Barbara | Jordan | Doctor of Laws |
5/15/1994 | Lawrence Leighton | Smith | Doctor of Music |
5/15/1993 | David | Weeks | Doctor of Humanities |
5/17/1992 | Niara | Sdkarkasa | Doctor of Social Science |
5/17/1992 | Luther | Williams | Doctor of Science |
5/19/1991 | Lawrence | Dahl | Doctor of Science |
5/19/1991 | Louis | Sullivan | Doctor of Science |
5/19/1991 | Chang-Lin | Tien | Doctor of Science |
5/19/1990 | L. Stanley | Chauvin | Doctor of Laws |
5/19/1990 | Haruko | Kataoka | Doctor of Music |
5/19/1990 | Michael | Steinhausen | Doctor of Science |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
5/1/1989 | Finis | Davis | Doctor of Science |
5/1/1989 | Georgia | Powers | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/1/1989 | Samuel | Proctor | Doctor of Humanities |
5/14/1988 | Stuart | Flexner | Doctor of Letters |
5/14/1988 | W. Scott | Miller | Doctor of Public Service or Laws |
5/17/1987 | Lyman T. | Johnson | Doctor of Public Service |
5/17/1986 | David | Jones | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/17/1986 | Thomas | Johnson | Doctor of Laws |
5/11/1985 | Marsha | Norman | Doctor of Letters |
5/11/1985 | Dorothy S. | Ridings | Doctor of Public Service |
3/18/1985 | Dorothy | Ridings | Doctor of Public Service |
3/18/1985 | Marsha | Norman | Doctors of Letters |
3/18/1985 | Robert | Edwards | Doctor of Public Service |
5/13/1984 | Christopher J. | Dodd | Doctor of Laws |
5/13/1984 | Carl Ronald | Kahn | Doctor of Science |
5/15/1983 | Norris | Houghton | Doctor of Humanities |
5/15/1983 | Joe M. | Kirkham | Doctor of Laws |
5/15/1983 | Edward Fretwell | Prichard, Jr. | Doctor of Public Service |
5/15/1983 | Maurice F. | Rabb | Doctor of Science |
5/9/1982 | James B. | Edwards | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/9/1982 | Paul Henry | Lang | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/9/1982 | Gradie R. | Rowntree | Doctor of Humanities |
5/10/1981 | Moritz | Bomhard | Doctor of Music |
5/10/1981 | Samuel H. | Klein | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/10/1981 | Jacqueline Ann | Swigart | Doctor of Public Service |
11/12/1980 | Joshua B. | Everett | Doctor of Humane Letter |
9/20/1980 | Alexander | Schneider | Doctor of Music |
5/23/1980 | Charles B. | Huggins | Doctor of Science |
5/11/1980 | Carl Gwin | Baker | Doctor of Science |
5/11/1980 | Earle Chester | Clements | Doctor of Laws |
5/11/1980 | Hoyt D. | Gardner | Doctor of Science |
5/11/1980 | Sam | Gilliam | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/11/1980 | John C. | Greene | Doctor of Science |
5/11/1980 | Wassily | Leonif | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/11/1980 | Ralph W. | Tyler | Doctor of Social Sciences |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
11/20/1979 | Roger | Manvell | Doctor of Letters |
5/13/1979 | Richard C. | Atkinson | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1979 | Morris Alfred | Barr | Doctor of Humanities |
5/13/1979 | Kenneth E. | Boulding | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1979 | Mary Helen | Byck | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/13/1979 | T. V. | Cranmer | Doctor of Engineering Science |
5/13/1979 | William Horsley | Gantt | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1979 | Victor | Jory | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/13/1979 | Frank Louis | Neuhauser | Doctor of Laws |
11/21/1978 | Virginia Johnson | Masters | Doctor of Science |
5/14/1978 | Russel Elliot | Dougherty | Doctor of Laws |
5/14/1978 | Blyden | Jackson | Doctor of Letters |
5/14/1978 | Henry Prather | Laughlin | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/14/1978 | Arthur Meier | Schlesinger, Jr. | Doctor of Letters |
5/14/1978 | Woodford B. | Troutman | Doctor of Science |
5/14/1978 | Alvin Martin | Weinberg | Doctor of Science |
5/15/1977 | Warren | Bennis | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/15/1977 | Bertram Wilbur | Doyle | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/15/1977 | Burrhus Frederic | Skinner | Doctor of Social Sciences |
4/22/1977 | Pamela Hansford | Johnson (Lady Snow) | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/14/1977 | Ernest Christopher | Hassold | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/9/1976 | Philip Lemont | Barbour | Doctor of Letters |
5/9/1976 | James Kern | Feibleman | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/9/1976 | Arthur S. | Kling | Doctor of Laws |
5/9/1976 | Patrick Vincent | Murphy | Doctor of Laws |
4/4/1976 | Charles Percy | Snow | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/11/1975 | Carl McClellan | Hill | Doctor of Science |
5/11/1975 | Albert Bruce | Sabin | Doctor of Humanities |
5/11/1975 | William J. | Usery, Jr. | Doctor of Social Sciences |
4/19/1975 | Chester Edward | Brown | Doctor of Science |
4/19/1975 | John Tolman | Burns | Doctor of Science |
4/19/1975 | Robert Craig | Ernst | Doctor of Science |
2/13/1975 | Charles Leon | Bibb | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/12/1974 | Philip Grant | Davidson | Doctor of Humanities |
5/12/1974 | John Davis | Fetterman | Doctor of Letters |
5/12/1974 | Patrick Emmet | Gorman | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/12/1974 | Mason Coddon | Rudd | Doctor of Laws |
5/12/1974 | Woodrow Mann | Strickler | Doctor of Social Sciences |
5/12/1974 | Leslie Stephen | Wright | Doctor of Pedagogy |
5/13/1973 | Glen Robert | Driscoll | Doctor of Laws |
5/13/1973 | Henry Charles | Grawemeyer | Doctor of Science |
5/13/1973 | Jon | Jory | Doctor of Letters |
5/13/1973 | Jesse Hilton | Stuart | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/14/1972 | Justus | Bier | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/14/1972 | Roland | Hayes | Doctor of Humanities |
5/14/1972 | Craig Potter | Hazelet | Doctor of Science |
5/14/1972 | Nicholas | Hobbs | Doctor of Science |
5/14/1972 | Carl Adam | Laughlin | Doctor of Laws |
5/14/1972 | Carl Dewey | Perkins | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/16/1971 | J. Murray | Kinsman | Doctor of Laws |
5/16/1971 | Louise | Marshall | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/16/1971 | John Jacob | Niles | Doctor of Humanities |
2/22/1971 | Hortense Flexner | King | Doctor of Literature |
5/17/1970 | Philip Earle | Blackerby, Jr. | Doctor of Humanities |
5/17/1970 | Louis | Gottschalk | Doctor of Laws |
5/17/1970 | Henry Vogt | Heuser | Doctor of Science |
5/17/1970 | Benjamin Lawrence | Reid | Doctor of Humane Letter |
5/17/1970 | Whitney Moore | Young, Jr. | Doctor of Humanities |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
6/8/1969 | David | Borowitz | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/8/1969 | Wilbur Joseph | Cohen | Doctor of Social Sciences |
6/8/1969 | Francois Laurent Jean | Delmas | Doctor of Laws |
6/8/1969 | Edmund Asbury | Gullion | Doctor of Laws |
6/8/1969 | William | Schwann | Doctor of Music |
11/18/1968 | Gunnar Karl | Myrdal | Doctor of Social Sciences |
6/9/1968 | Abdelhafeez Abdalla | El-Rufaie | Doctor of Social Sciences |
6/9/1968 | Hugh | Haynie | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/9/1968 | Williams Grosvenor | Pollard | Doctor of Laws |
3/11/1968 | John Inkster | Goodlad | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/11/1967 | Alexandre | Aimes | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/11/1967 | Eli Houston | Brown, III | Doctor of Laws |
6/11/1967 | Virginia Perrin | Speed | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/11/1967 | Shinieh | Suzuki | Doctor of Music |
10/19/1966 | Jacob Kippel | Javits | Doctor of Laws |
6/29/1966 | John Wieland | Oswald | Doctor of Laws |
6/5/1966 | Jules C. | Stein | Doctor of Humane Letter |
10/27/1964 | Farrington | Daniel | Doctor of Science |
6/7/1964 | Thomas Dionysius | Clark | Doctor of Laws |
6/11/1961 | Lucien | Beckner | Doctor of Science |
6/11/1961 | Emmet Field | Horine | Doctor of Literature |
6/11/1961 | Herman B. | Wells | Doctor of Laws |
5/26/1961 | Harry S. | Truman | Doctor of Laws |
3/23/1961 | Max | Mousseron | Doctor of Science |
6/5/1960 | Victor Karl | Hammer | Doctor of Humanities |
6/5/1960 | Francis O. | Wilcox | Doctor of Laws |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
6/7/1959 | Thomas A. | Bledsoe | Doctor of Humanities |
6/7/1959 | Leonard Dudley | Heaton | Doctor of Science |
2/20/1959 | Richard | Krautheimer | Doctor of Literature |
3/15/1957 | Paul Eliot | Green | Doctor of Literature |
12/18/1956 | Paul Abraham | Freund | Doctor of Laws |
12/18/1956 | Alpheus Thomas | Mason | Doctor of Literature |
12/18/1956 | Sherman | Minton | Doctor of Laws |
6/3/1956 | Alan | Canty | Doctor of Laws |
6/3/1956 | Clarence H. | Faust | Doctor of Literature |
6/3/1956 | Abraham | Flexner | Doctor of Science |
6/3/1956 | Mary Belknap | Gray | Doctor of Literature |
6/5/1955 | Frederick Herman | Verhoeff | Doctor of Science |
6/6/1954 | Mary | Bingham | Doctor of Literature |
6/6/1954 | Alexander | Wiley | Doctor of Laws |
6/7/1953 | Lawrence | Wetherby | Doctor of Laws |
6/2/1952 | Beardsley | Ruml | Doctor of Science |
6/2/1952 | Frederick Fuller | Russell | Doctor of Science |
6/2/1952 | Robert | Whitney | Doctor of Music |
10/30/1951 | Barry | Bingham | Doctor of Literature |
10/30/1951 | Oliver C. | Carmichael | Doctor of Laws |
10/30/1951 | Herman Lee | Donovan | Doctor of Laws |
10/30/1951 | Charles P. | Farnsley | Doctor of Laws |
10/30/1951 | David Dodds | Henry | Doctor of Laws |
10/30/1951 | George Dinsmore | Stoddard | Doctor of Laws |
6/5/1951 | Gordon Evans | Dean | Doctor of Laws |
9/26/1950 | David | Sarnoff | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/12/1950 | John Donald | Kingsley | Doctor of Laws |
6/12/1950 | Martha B. | Lucas | Doctor of Humane Letter |
6/12/1950 | Frank | Pace, Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
5/19/1950 | Orld Wallace | Eisbach | Doctor of Engineering |
5/19/1950 | William Edrald | Kelley | Doctor of Engineering |
5/19/1950 | Jesse Wilford | Mason | Doctor of Engineering |
5/19/1950 | William Shallcross | Speed | Doctor of Science |
3/15/1950 | H. Fred | Wilkie | Doctor of Laws |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
6/13/1949 | Richard Thomas | Alexander | Doctor of Literature |
6/13/1949 | Earl James | McGrath | Doctor of Laws |
6/13/1949 | Clyde Estes | Minges | Doctor of Laws |
6/13/1949 | John Walker | Moore | Doctor of Laws |
6/13/1949 | Thruston Ballard | Morton | Doctor of Laws |
6/13/1949 | Robert Penn | Warren | Doctor of Literature |
6/15/1948 | Harry G. | Armstrong | Doctor of Science |
6/15/1948 | Mark Foster | Ethridge | Doctor of Literature |
6/15/1948 | Frank Porter | Graham | Doctor of Laws |
6/15/1948 | William Spencer | Stone | Doctor of Science |
6/15/1948 | Wilson Watkins | Wyatt | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | James Gilbert | Baker | Doctor of Science |
2/10/1948 | Alben William | Barkley | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | William | Benfon | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Philip Earle | Blackerby | Doctor of Science |
2/10/1948 | Sarah Gibson | Blanding | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Raymond Whitcomb | Bliss | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Lucius Dubignon | Clay | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Harry Alfred | Curtis | Doctor of Engineering |
2/10/1948 | Carter | Davidson | Doctor of Literature |
2/10/1948 | William Henry | Draper, Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | William Birrell | Franke | Doctor of Science |
2/10/1948 | Carl Clifford | Howard | Doctor of Science |
2/10/1948 | Edgard Erskine | Hume | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Robert Staughton | Lynd | Doctor of Literature |
2/10/1948 | Bryan Lee | Milburn | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Robert Daniel | Murphy | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Daniel | Noce | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Roger Jean Charles | Noiret | Doctor of Laws |
2/10/1948 | Morrison Clay | Stayer | Doctor of Science |
2/10/1948 | George Frederick | Zook | Doctor of Laws |
2/9/1948 | John Mason | Brown | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | William Anthony Stanislaus | Dollard | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | George Hiram | Geyer | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Eugene Theodore | Hepp | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Marshall Mason | Knappen | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Reginal Townsend | Percival | Doctor of Science |
2/9/1948 | Oscar William | Rainmuth | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Donald Charles | Riddy | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Paul Francis | Shafer | Doctor of Literature |
2/9/1948 | Allen | Tate | Doctor of Literature |
9/20/1947 | Geoffrey | Parsons | Doctor of Laws |
9/20/1947 | Fred W. | Rankin | Doctor of Science |
9/20/1947 | Elmo | Roper | Doctor of Laws |
9/20/1947 | Roy Glenn | Spurling | Doctor of Science |
9/19/1947 | Lafon | Allen | Doctor of Laws |
9/19/1947 | Edward S. | Jouett | Doctor of Laws |
9/19/1947 | Stanley Forman | Reed | Doctor of Laws |
9/19/1947 | Wiley Blount | Rutledge | Doctor of Laws |
9/19/1947 | Frederick Moore | Vinson | Doctor of Laws |
6/14/1947 | William Allen | Hamor | Doctor of Science |
6/14/1947 | Ford Lee | Wilkinson, Jr. | Doctor of Engineering |
6/22/1945 | David Wark | Griffith | Doctor of Literature |
6/22/1945 | Y. C. James | Yen | Doctor of Laws |
10/21/1944 | Earle Watkins | Mills | Doctor of Engineering |
9/7/1944 | John Thomas | O'Rourke | Doctor of Science |
1/10/1944 | Edward Frederick Lindley | Wood (Viscount Halifax) | Doctor of Laws |
6/4/1940 | Sophonisaba P. | Breckinridege | Doctor of Laws |
Date Awarded | First Name | Last Name | Honorary Degree Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
6/6/1939 | Arthur | Krock | Doctor of Literature |
6/7/1938 | Frances McGregor | Ingram | Master of Arts |
6/8/1937 | Mary | Breckenridge | Doctor of Laws |
6/8/1937 | K. S. | Oh | Doctor of Science |
6/8/1937 | Alice Hegan | Rice | Doctor of Literature |
6/8/1937 | Cale Young | Rice | Doctor of Literature |
6/8/1937 | Elisebeth Madox | Roberts | Doctor of Literature |
6/8/1937 | Frederic M. | Sackett | Doctor of Laws |
6/8/1937 | J. B. (Hattie Bishop) | Speed | Master of Fine Arts |
6/8/1937 | R. C. Ballard | Thruston | Master of Arts |
6/8/1937 | Tom | Wallace | Master of Arts |
4/16/1937 | Irvin | Abell | Doctor of Science |
4/16/1937 | Simon | Flexner | Doctor of Science |
4/16/1937 | William James | Hutchins | Doctor of Humane Letter |
4/16/1937 | Charles Hubbard | Judd | Doctor of Science |
4/16/1937 | Frank LeRond | McVey | Doctor of Laws |
4/16/1937 | James H. | Richmond | Doctor of Laws |
6/9/1936 | Morris | Belknap, Jr. | Master of Arts |
6/4/1935 | Edmond F. | Trabue | Doctor of Laws |
6/6/1933 | Wilfred thomason | Grenfell | Doctor of Science |