May 26, 2024
Richard Blanco | Litt.D. |
Mary Louise Kelly (Speaker) | Litt.D. |
Ava Clayton Spencer | L.H.D. |
May 28, 2023
Joseph Drew Lanham (Speaker) | D.Sc |
Michael Monroe Lewis | Litt.D. |
Julieanna L. Richardson | L.H.D. |
Shankar Vedantam | Litt.D. |
May 29, 2022
Michael W. Bonney ’80, P’09, P’12, P’15 | L.H.D. |
Nikki Giovanni | Litt.D. |
Nirav D. Shah (Speaker) | D.Sc. |
Becca Stevens | L.H.D. |
May 27, 2021
Yvon V. Chouinard | L.H.D. |
Vanessa L. German | D.F.A. |
Rhiannon Giddens | D.Mus. |
Chase B. Strangio | LL.D. |
Note: Each honorand participated virtually in the Commencement ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic and offered remarks for approximately 5 minutes.
May 31, 2020
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Bates held commencement exercises virtually. No honorary degrees were awarded.
September 3, 2019 (Convocation)
Dolores C. Huerta (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
May 26, 2019
Jennifer A. Doudna (Speaker) | D.Sc. |
Travis F. Mills | L.H.D. |
Megan J. Smith | L.H.D. |
May 27, 2018
Lynsey Addario | L.H.D. |
Jill Lepore | L.H.D. |
Bob Ludwig | D.Mus. |
Bryan Stevenson (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May 28, 2017
Geoffrey Canada (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Susan M. Collins | L.H.D. |
Wanda M. Corn | D.F.A. |
Patrick G. Dempsey | L.H.D. |
May 29, 2016
Lisa Genova ’92 | L.H.D. |
Daniel T. Gilbert | Litt.D. |
John R. Lewis (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Robert E. Witt | L.H.D. |
May 31, 2015
Mark Barry Abelson P’97 | D.Sc. |
Manjul Bhargava (Speaker) | D.Sc. |
Thomas F. Moser | L.H.D. |
Joan Benoit Samuelson P’10 | L.H.D. |
May 25, 2014
John Seeley Brown | D.Sc. |
Glenn Close | D.F.A. |
David Evans Shaw P’00 | L.H.D. |
Isabel Alexis Wilkerson (Speaker) | Litt.D. |
May 26, 2013
William Cronon P’13 | Litt.D. |
Elaine Tuttle Hansen | Litt.D. |
Gary Hirshberg P’13 (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Vivian W. Pinn, M.D. | D.Sc. |
May 27, 2012
Bonnie L. Bassler | D.Sc. |
Robert De Niro | D.F.A |
Gwen Ifill | Litt.D |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes
May 31, 2011
Frank Glazer | D.F.A. |
Evelynn Hammonds | L.H.D. |
Robert S. Langer | D.Sc. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes
May 30, 2010
Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris | D.F.A. |
James J. McCarthy | D. Sc. |
Jane Pauley (Trudeau) | L.H.D. |
Elizabeth Strout ’77 | Litt. D. |
Teresa K. Woodruff | D. Sc. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes
May 31, 2009
Geena Davis | D.F.A. |
Robert M. Franklin | L.H.D. |
Mimi A. R. Koehl | D. Sc. |
Fareed Zakaria | L.H.D. |
Ralph T. Perry ‘51, GP’02 | L.H.D |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes
May 25, 2008
Susan V. Berresford | L.H.D. |
Phillip A. Sharp | D.Sc. |
Warren M. Washington | D.Sc. |
Pauline Yu | Litt.D. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes
May 27, 2007
Eric Carle | Litt.D. |
Corey Leslie Harris ’91 | D.Mus. |
Dean Kamen | D.Sc. |
Anna Deavere Smith | D.F.A. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes.
May 28, 2006
Marjorie Garber | L.H.D. |
Dr. David D. Ho | D.Sc. |
David McCullough | L.H.D. |
Mark Morris | D.F.A. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes.
May 30, 2005
T. J. Anderson | D.Mus. |
Lynn Margulis | D.Sc. |
Daisy M. Soros | LL.D. |
Paul Soros | LL.D. |
Brian Wiliams | L.H.D. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes.
May 31, 2004
Rita R. Colwell | D.Sc. |
David L. Lewis | L.H.D. |
Milton L. Lindholm ‘35, P’64 | L.H.D. |
John C. Whitehead | LL.D. |
Note: Each honorand spoke for approximately 5-8 minutes.
May 26, 2003
Carol Bellamy | L.H.D. |
Eugene Braunwald | D.Sc. |
Stephen Carter (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Donald W. Harward P’92 | L.H.D. |
May 27, 2002
Ken Burns | L.H.D. |
M. Joycelyn Elders | D.Sc. |
Wendy Wasserstein | D.F.A. |
Steven Weinberg | D.Sc. |
June 4, 2001
Bruce M. Alberts | D.Sc. |
Mary Frances Berry | LL.D. |
James Leander Moody, Jr. GP’12, GP’14 | L.H.D. |
Anna Quindlen | L.H.D. |
Robert B. Reich (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May 29, 2000
Robert L. Bernstein GP’14 | L.H.D. |
Trisha Brown | D.F.A. |
Shirley M. Malcom | D.Sc. |
Beverly Daniel Tatum | L.H.D. |
Desmond M. Tutu (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
May 31, 1999
Robert Dunn ‘50 | L.H.D. |
Richard C. Holbrooke (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Dr. Leroy Hood | D.Sc. |
William Julius Wilson | LL.D. |
April 7, 1999 (Founder’s Day, 4th Spring Convocation)
Mr. Julian Bond (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May 25, 1998
Ms. Doris Kearns Goodwin (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Dr. Walter E. Massey | D.Sc. |
Mr. Daniel Louis Schorr | Litt.D. |
Senator Olympia J. Snowe | LL.D. |
Mr. John Hoyer Updike P‘92 | Litt.D. |
May 26, 1997
Dr. Oscar Arias (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Professor Derrick Bell | LL.D. |
Mr. Philip Isaacson ‘47 | L.H.D. |
Professor Kathleen Jamieson | Litt.D. |
Professor Jane Lubchenco | D.Sc. |
April 3, 1997 (Founder’s Day, 3rd Annual Spring Convocation)
Helen A. Papaioanou, M.D. ‘49 | D.Sc. |
May 27, 1996
Dr. Chinua Achebe (Speaker) | Litt.D. |
The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes ‘65 | D.D. |
Ms. Natalie Webber Gulbrandsen ‘42, P’67 | LL.D. |
Dr. Edward O. Wilson | D.Sc. |
April 2, 1996 (Founder’s Day, 2nd Annual Spring Convocation)
Mr. Mstislav Rostropovich | L.H.D. |
June 5, 1995
Ms. Byllye Avery | LL.D. |
Robert E. McAfee, M.D. ‘56, P’83 | D.Sc. |
Mr. Garry Wills (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
April 5, 1995 (Founder’s Day, Special Spring Convocation)
Dr. Elie Wiesel (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May 30, 1994
Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Ms. Isabel Allende | L.H.D. |
Mr. William H. Gray III | L.L.D. |
Ms. Judith M. Isaacson ‘65, GP’07 | L.L.D. |
Ms. Faye Wattleton | L.H.D. |
May 31, 1993
Dr. James H. Billington | L.H.D. |
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci | D.Sc. |
Miss Geneva Kirk ‘37 | L.L.D. |
Ms. Paule B. Marshall | L.H.D. |
Dean Lester C. Thurow (Speaker) | L.L.D. |
May 25, 1992
Mr. David S. Broder | L.H.D. |
Ms. Maria Irene Fornés | Litt.D. |
Professor John Hope Franklin (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Professor Helen H. Vendler | Litt.D. |
May 27, 1991
Mr. Arthur Agnos ‘60 | LL.D. |
Dr. Freeman Dyson (Speaker) | D.Sc. |
Mr. Leon Gorman | LL.D. |
Mr. Donald Hall | Litt.D. |
Ms. Dahlov Ipcar | D.F.A. |
Mr. Roger Tory Peterson | D.Sc. |
Ms. Bernice Johnson Reagon | L.H.D. |
June 4, 1990
Dr. A. LeRoy Greason, Jr. | L.H.D. |
The Honorable Mr. Justice Gerard V. La Forest | LL.D. |
President Emeritus Thomas Hedley Reynolds | L.H.D. |
The Reverend Dr. Nathan A. Scott, Jr. | D.D. |
Professor Joan Steitz | D.Sc. |
Dr. Catharine Stimpson (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May 29, 1989
Howard M. Brown | D.Mus. |
William S. Cohen | LL.D. |
Johnnetta B. Cole | LL.D. |
Victor A. McKusick P’87 | D.Sc. |
Marian McPartland | D.Mus. |
Paul A. Volcker | LL.D. |
1988
Asako O. Hirasawa P’65 | L.H.D. |
John Andrew Kenney, Jr., M.D. ’42 | D.Sc. |
R.W.B. Lewis | Litt.D. |
Thomas F. Malone | D.Sc. |
Marian Goddard Mullet ‘50 | LL.D. |
Roswell B. Perkins | LL.D. |
Donald M. Stewart (Speaker) | LL.D. |
1987
Zanvil A. Cohn, M.D. ‘48, GP’12 | D.Sc. |
William R. Dill ‘51, P’77 | LL.D. |
Stephen Jay Gould | D.Sc. |
Flora Lewis | L.H.D. |
Judge Ellen Ash Peters (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Andrew N. Wyeth GP’01 | D.F.A. |
1986
Marian Wright Edelman | LL.D. |
Bryant C. Gumbel ‘70 | LL.D. |
Seamus Heaney | Litt.D. |
Ambassador Max M. Kempelman | LL.D. |
Ambassador Carol Laise | LL.D. |
Ambassador Donald F. McHenry (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
David Martyn Smith | D.Sc. |
September 28, 1985
President Jimmy Carter | LL.D. |
1985
Dr. Eleanor J. Gibson | D.Sc. |
Mr. E. Robert Kinney ’39, P’70, GP’93 | LL.D. |
Senator George J. Mitchell (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Mr. George Putnam | LL.D. |
Dr. Barbara H. Sanford | D.Sc. |
Mr. Neil Welliver | D.F.A. |
1984
D. Ernest L. Boyer (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Mrs. Alice Swanson Esty ’25, GP’92 | L.H.D. |
Dr. Robert S. Fitzgerald | Litt.D. |
Dr. Theodore S. Hauschka | D.Sc. |
Denise Levertov | L.H.D. |
1983
Dr. John Wesley Chandler P’83, GP’09 | L.H.D. |
Julia McWilliams Child | D.F.A. |
Martin Friedman | L.H.D. |
Bernard Lown, M.D. P’75 (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen | D.Sc. |
William H. Sutherland, Jr. ’40, GP’11 | L.D. |
Emily Townsend Vermeule | L.H.D. |
1982
Mrs. Lucy Wilson Benson | L.H.D. |
Ms. Charlayne Hunter-Gault (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Mr. Adelbert M. Jakeman ’27, P’51 | Litt.D. |
Ms. Geri M. Joseph | LL.D. |
Dr. George D. Snell | D.Sc. |
Dr. James Tobin | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1981
Dr. Rudolf Arnheim | Litt.D. |
The Honorable Warren Christopher | L.H.D. |
The Honorable Kenneth M. Curtis | LL.D. |
Mr. Charles E. Merrill, Jr. | L.H.D. |
Ms. Nancy Hays Teeters | LL.D. |
June 1, 1980
Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson | LL.D. |
Dr. John W. Blassingame | L.H.D. |
Dr. Clifford J. Geertz | L.H.D. |
Jean Gannett Hawley | LL.D. |
George I. Lythcott, M.D. ’39, P’69 | LL.D. |
Elliot L. Richardson (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1979
Isabel Bishop | D.F.A. |
Gerald Holton | D.Sc. |
Dorris A. Isaacson P’36, P’37 | M.A. |
Amory B. Lovins | D.Sc. |
Robert B.W. MacNeil (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
Vincent L. McKusick ’44 | LL.D. |
June 1, 1978
Gwendolyn Brooks | Litt.D. |
Jacques J. d’Amboise | D.F.A. |
Madeleine Richard Freeman ’47 | LL.D. |
H. Northrop Frye | L.H.D. |
Ian Lennox McHarg (Speaker) | L.H.D. |
John McPhee | Litt.D. |
June 1, 1977
Berenice Abbott | D.F.A. |
Charlotte M. Curtis | L.H.D. |
Edward T. Gignoux GP’92 | LL.D. |
George E. Ladd, Jr. GP’76, GP’85 | LL.D. |
Isidor I. Rabi | D.Sc. |
Horton Guyford Stever (Speaker) | LL.D. |
June 1, 1976
Elma I. Lewis | D.F.A. |
Paul Webster MacAvoy ’55 (Speaker) | LL.D. |
May Sarton | Litt.D. |
Mary Lou Williams | D.F.A. |
The Honorable Robert B. Williamson | LL.D. |
June 1, 1975
Mr. George W. Ball (Speaker) | D.C.L. |
Dr. Daniel J. Boorstin | L.H.D. |
Mr. William T. Coleman, Jr. | LL.D. |
Mr. Andrew J. Young, Jr. | LL.D. |
June 1, 1974
Mr. Thomas Allsopp | LL.D. |
Mrs. Sarah P. Harkness | D.F.A. |
Mr. Paul Henry Lang | Mus.D. |
Mr. Gerard Piel | Litt.D. |
June 1, 1973
Dr. A. Craig Baird | LL.D. |
Miss Evelyn M. Copeland ‘39 | L.H.D. |
Dr. Paul A. Freund | Litt.D. |
Dr. George S. Menger-Hammond ’43, GP’03 | D.Sc. |
June 1, 1972
Claude LeRoy Allen, Jr. | LL.D. |
Sylvester Jefferson Carter ‘34 | D.Sc. |
Robert Coles | Litt.D. |
Charles Roy Keller | LL.D. |
Constance Ernestine Berry Newman ’56 | LL.D. |
June 1, 1971
Coretta Scott King | Litt.D. |
Alfred A. Knopf | L.H.D. |
Robert H. Kroepsch ‘33 | LL.D. |
William L. Parsons 1905 | LL.D. |
Nancy Roman | D.Sc. |
Mark Shedd | LL.D. |
June 1, 1970
Edwin Adams 1919 | LL.D. |
Winthrop C. Libby | LL.D. |
Russell E. Train | LL.D. |
April 1, 1970
Miss Ruth M. Adams | L.H.D. |
Mr. King V. Cheek, Jr. ‘59 | LL.D. |
Mr. John Ciardi ’38 | Litt.D. |
Mr. Eli Goldston | LL.D. |
Archbishop Iakovos | D.D. |
July 4, 1969
Mr. E. Harry Boothby ‘41, P’73 | LL.D. |
Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller | D.Sc. |
April 29, 1969
Mr. Stephen Etnier | D.F.A. |
Miss Pauline Frederick | Litt.D. |
Mr. Peter Fuller | LL.D. |
Mr. Alan R. Sawyer ‘41, P’76 | D.F.A. |
Mr. William Stringfellow ‘49 | L.H.D. |
James Russell Wiggins | LL.D. |
June 28, 1968
Norman E. Ross ‘22 | A.M. |
Stewart L. Udall | LL.D. |
April 1, 1968
George H. Ellis | LL.D. |
John M. Googin ‘44 | D.Sc. |
Robert E.L. Strider | L.H.D. |
Margaret Joy Tibbetts | LL.D. |
Nils Y. Wessell (Speaker) | LL.D. |
October 7, 1967 (Inauguration of T. Hedley Reynolds)
Dr. James I. Armstrong | L.H.D. |
Mr. Francis Keppel | LL.D. |
April 24, 1967
Mr. Charles A. Dana | L.H.D. |
Professor Owen W. Dodson ‘36 | Litt.D. |
Professor Bernard M. Loomer ‘34 | D.D. |
Dr. Charles F. Phillips | LL.D. |
Senator Margaret Chase Smith (Speaker) | LL.D. |
April 24, 1966
Mr. Samuel M. Graves ‘24 | L.H.D. |
The Honorable William H. Hastie | L.H.D. |
Mrs. Charles F. Phillips | L.H.D. |
Dr. Priscilla F. Pollister ‘25 | D.Sc. |
Dr. William Howard Schuman | LL.D. |
June 6, 1965
Mr. John Burkhart | L.H.D. |
Dr. Hudson Hoagland | D.Sc. |
Mr. Eugenio Mendoza | LL.D. |
Mrs. Harper Sibley | L.H.D. |
Mr. Charles A. Schmutz | M.A. |
Mr. Edward R. Stanley ‘39, P’62 | M.A. |
June 1, 1964
Dr. Richard S. Buker ‘21, P’46 | L.H.D. |
Dr. Grayson L. Kirk (Speaker) | LL.D. |
Dr. Henry W. Littlefield ‘28 | LL.D. |
Mr. & Mrs. Pierre Luboshutz | Mus.D. |
Mr. Perry T. Rathbone | D.F.A. |
Dr. Almus M. Thorp ‘34 | L.H.D. |
Mr. Minoru Yamasaki | D.F.A. |
Mr. William & Mrs. Marguerite Zorach | D.F.A. |
October 26, 1963
Alfred C. Fuller | LL.D. |
Fred M. Hechinger | LL.D. |
Eugene F. O’Neill | D.Sc. |
William S. Paley | LL.D. |
Barbara W. Tuchman | Litt.D. |
Frank H. Bowles | L.H.D. |
Philip A. Hofer | D.F.A. |
June 1, 1963
Dr. Marcolino Gomes Candau | D.Sc. |
Clifford N. Carver | LL.D. |
Margaret Hutchinson Compton | L.H.D. |
Dr. Arthur W. Easton | D.Sc. |
Dr. Russell H. Fifield ‘35 | LL.D. |
James M. Nabrit, Jr., P’52 | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1962
Dr. Chester S. Keefer | D.Sc. |
George Olmstead, Jr. | LL.D. |
Mrs. Helen Hill Stuber ‘25, P’50, P’55 | L.H.D. |
Randolph A. Weatherbee ‘32, P’65, GP’02 | LL.D. |
Donald W. Webber | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1961
Alonzo J. Harriman | D.F.A. |
Kazushige Hirasawa ‘36, P’65 | Litt.D. |
Miss Edith Mary Lerrigo ‘32 | L.H.D. |
Dr. Edward F. Roberts ‘23 | D.Sc. |
June 1, 1960
Charles Francis Adams | LL.D. |
Mrs. Santha Rama Rau Bowers | Litt.D. |
Meredith F. Burrill ‘25, P’59 | D.Sc. |
Sidney W. Davidson | L.H.D. |
Frederick D. Hayes ‘31, P’60, P’67 | D.D. |
Karl L. Rankin | LL.D. |
June 1, 1959
Frank M. Coffin ‘40, GP’07 | LL.D. |
Sylvia Porter (Collins) | Litt.D. |
Alan Hovhaness | D.Mus. |
Thayer Lindsley | LL.D. |
Henry P. Van Dusen | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1958
Julius Seelye Bixler | L.H.D. |
Alfred Maximilian Gruenther | LL.D. |
Arthur Wagg Pollister ‘24 | D.Sc. |
Miriam Van Waters | L.H.D. |
October 1, 1957
Samuel Brookner Gould ‘30 | LL.D. |
Loy Wesley Henderson | LL.D. |
George Washington Lane, Jr. | LL.D. |
William Thon | D.F.A. |
Valentine Haining Wilson ‘38 | LL.D. |
June 1, 1957
Luis Munoz-Marin | LL.D. |
Anne Helen Martikainen ‘39 | D.Sc. |
Milton David Proctor | L.H.D. |
Robert Burnham Watts ‘22 | LL.D. |
June 1, 1956
Dorothy Fosdick | L.H.D. |
Boris Goldovsky | D. Mus. |
Harold Wellington Richardson ‘30 | L.H.D. |
Hazel Hutchins Wilson 1919 | M.A. |
June 1, 1955
Malvina Hoffman | D.F.A. |
Ralph Lowell | LL.D. |
Edmund Sixtus Muskie ‘36 | LL.D. |
Charles Laurence Stevens ‘21, P’52 | Ed.D. |
Dorothy Constance Stratton | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1954
Sherman Adams | LL.D. |
Richard Lyon Bowditch | LL.D. |
John Phillips Marquand | L.H.D. |
Millicent Carey McIntosh | L.H.D. |
Clarence Paul Quimby 1910, P’38, P’42 | Ed.D. |
William Grant Still | Litt.D. |
June 1, 1953
Clarence Irving Chatto 1912 | Ed.D. |
George Elbert Judd | L.H.D. |
Mrs. N. Myra Glazier Kenney | LL.D. |
Edwin Herbert Land | LL.D. |
Lester Markel | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1952
Frank Altschul | LL.D. |
John William Ashton ‘22 | LL.D. |
Louis Bartlett Costello 1898 | LL.D. |
Louis Clark de Rochemont | L.H.D. |
Alfred Eastlack Driscoll | LL.D. |
Ada Holding Miller | A.M. |
Daniel Alfred Poling | L.H.D. |
June 1, 1951
Robert James McCracken | L.H.D. |
John Lewis Miller ‘26, P’52 | LL.D. |
Lester Bowles Pearson | LL.D. |
Helen Rogers Reid | Litt.D. |
Ben Ames Williams | Litt.D. |
November 1, 1950
Abraham Lincoln Filene | LL.D. |
Everett Clifton Higgins 1903 | A.M. |
James Rhyne Killian, Jr. | D.Sc. |
Harold Raymond Medina | LL.D. |
William Webster | LL.D. |
June 1, 1950
Paul Howard Douglas | LL.D. |
Arthur Andrew Hauck | LL.D. |
Clifton Todd Perkins ‘22, P’50 | LL.D. |
June 1, 1949
Lucius DuBignon Clay | LL.D. |
Vining Campbell Dunlap 1914 | D.Sc. |
Frank Wendall Rounds 1904 | D.Sc. |
Dorothy Shaver | LL.D. |
June 1, 1948
Luther Isaac Bonney 1906 | A.M. |
Sevellon Ledyard Brown | Litt.D. |
Christian Archibald Herter | LL.D. |
Phillips Merrill Payson | LL.D. |
Venila Lovina Shores 1914 | Litt.D. |
June 1, 1947
Warren Robinson Austin | LL.D. |
William Thomas Grant | LL.D. |
Clifton Daggett Gray | D.D. |
Helen Hall Kellogg | LL.D. |
Benjamin Elijah Mays 1920 | D.D. |
Dorothy Clarke Wilson ‘25 | Litt.D. |
June 1, 1946
Erwin Dain Canham ‘25, P’53 | Litt.D. |
Anne Macomber Gannett | A.M. |
Herman David Ruhm, Jr. | LL.D. |
Harold Edward Stassen | LL.D. |
June 1, 1945
Gladys Hasty Carroll ‘25, P’53, P’62 | Litt.D. |
Elizabeth Anthony Dexter 1908 | LL.D. |
Robert Moses | LL.D. |
Sumner Tucker Pike | LL.D. |
Charles Eldridge Spencer, Jr. | LL.D. |
Thomas Spooner 1905, P’44 | D.Sc. |