Honorary Degrees

Submit a nomination

Guidelines and Nomination Form (PDF)

Deadlines: February and September each year. Call 355-0306 or email for dates.

Next deadline: February 8, 2010

Honorary Degree Committee Members 2009-10

J. Ian Gray, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, Chair
John Beck, Labor and Industrial Relations
Joseph Francese, French, Classics, Italian
Mildred Horodynski, Nursing
Tomas Hult, Marketing
Ken Keegstra, Plant Research Lab, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Karen Klomparens, Dean, Graduate School
Manoochehr Koochesfani, Mechanical Engineering
Joan Rose, Fisheries and Wildlife
Joseph Walther, Communication, Telecommunications, Information Studies and Media
John Wilson, Economics

Kim Wilcox, Provost, ex officio

Past Honorary Degrees Awarded

Guidelines for Nominations for Honorary Degrees

Nominations for Honorary Degrees

The Faculty Committee on Honorary Degrees is in the continuing process of developing a list of outstanding nominees to receive honorary degrees. The award of an honorary degree is a chance to bring attention to deserving individuals. Nominees should meet one or more of the following criteria:

Distinguished graduate of MSU (any field)

Distinguished scientist, humanist, scholar of the arts, or distinguished member of one of the professions (law, medicine, etc )

Distinguished person in public life or business

It has been the practice not to nominate members of our own faculty. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Information should be as complete as possible so that the committee will be able to arrive at a decision based on the material submitted. Each nomination must include the following documentation:

Honorary Degree Nomination Form. Form available here in PFD format. Note: The form now requires a dean’s signature.

Nomination Statement (two-three pages) explaining why the nominee should be considered for an honorary degree from MSU.

Supporting Letters (at least two) from qualified recommenders who are familiar with the professional accomplishments and achievements of the nominee.

Resume or Vita

Other supporting materials as deemed necessary by the nominator.

Incomplete nominations cannot be reviewed by the committee. The original and 15 copies of the complete nomination packet must be submitted. Care should be taken so that candidates are not aware of their nomination.

Nominees do not need to have a connection with MSU but should exemplify the values inherent in MSU's mission and articulated in documents like the Boldness by Design initiatives.

Invitations to nominees are issued only by the president of Michigan State University. In addition, the president retains the option of designating speakers for the commencement ceremonies to receive honorary degrees.

Completed nominations should be coordinated through the dean's office of each college and forwarded to the Faculty Committee on Honorary Degrees, c/o the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, 232 Administration Building. Nominations may be submitted by individual faculty (active or retired), a group of individuals with at least one MSU faculty member, or an academic unit at any time. The committee typically meets near the beginning of fall and spring semesters.

Newsletter article about honorary degree nominations, Winter 2007

Past Honorary Degrees Awarded

Alphabetical list

Chronological list

Past Honorary Degree Recipients: Alphabetical List

A - B, C - E, F - H, I - M, N - S, T - Z

Name	Date Awarded	Degree
Abraham, Spencer	Fall 1995	Dr. of Laws
Abrams, Talbert	1961	Dr. of Engineering
Adams, Arthur Stanton	1954	Dr. of Laws
Adams, Walter	Fall 1979	Dr. of Laws
Adams, Walter	Fall 1991	Dr. of Humane Letters
Addy, Frederick	Spring 1999	Dr. of Humanities
Ajzenberg-Selove, Fay	Spring 1997	Dr. of Science
Akers, Forest H.	1958	Dr. of Laws
Alberts, Bruce M.	Spring 1996	Dr. of Science
Al-Sudeary, Abdelmuhsin M.	Fall 1983	Dr. of Laws
Anderson, Marian	Spring 1970	Dr. of Music
Anderson, William G.	Spring 2002	Dr. of Science
Angell, James Burrill	1907	Dr. of Laws
Anthony, Ernest Lee	1954	Dr. of Agriculture
Ariyoshi, George R.	Winter 1979	Dr. of Laws
Armstrong, Parul Stuart	1946	Dr. of Agriculture
Angelou, Maya	Spring 2005	Dr. of Humanities
Asato, Genshu	1958	Dr. of Laws
Atkinson, Richard	Fall 1978	Dr. of Science
Austin, Richard H.	Spring 1985	Dr. of Laws
Azikiwe, Nnamidi	1959	Dr. of Laws
Babcock, Howard Edward	1941	Dr. of Agriculture
Babcock, Warren	1913	Dr. of Science
Badran, Adnan	Spring 2007	Dr. Science
Bagley, William C.	1940	Dr. of Laws
Bailey, Liberty Hyde	1907	Dr. of Laws
Baker, Ray Stannard	1917	Dr. of Laws
Baldwin, Wendy	Spring 2001	Dr. of Science
Ball, George W.	Spring 1976	Dr. of Laws
Barbosa, Mario	Spring 1976	Dr. of Science
Barker, Robert	Fall 1994	Dr. of Science
Barkley, Alben William	1950	Dr. of Laws
Bartlett, Thomas	Winter 1978	Dr. of Laws
Bassett, Charles E.	1913	Ms. of Horticulture
Bauman, Dale E.	Fall 2005	Dr. of Agriculture
Beachy, Roger N.	Fall 2001	Dr. of Science
Beal, William James	1905	Dr. of Science
Beaumont, John W.	1932	Dr. of Letters
Beekman, Marvin E.	Fall 1974	Dr. of Laws
Belen, Frederick Christian	Spring 1967	Dr. of Laws
Beukema, Christian Fred	Spring 1967	Dr. of Laws
Bevis, Howard Landis	1955	Dr. of Laws
Binsfeld, Connie Berube	Fall 1998	Dr. of Humanities
Bird, Arthur C.	1896	Ms. of Agriculture
Bissell, George Welton	1930	Dr. of Engineering
Blackwell, David	Spring 1969	Dr. of Science
Blanchard, James J.	Spring 1983	Dr. of Laws
Bohlen, Charles Eustis	1960	Dr. of Laws
Bollinger, Lee C.	Fall 2001	Dr. of Laws
Borges, Jorge Luis	Winter 1972	Dr. of Humane Letters
Borlaug, Norman E.	Spring 1971	Dr. of Science
Boulding, Kenneth Ewart	Spring 1969	Dr. of Laws
Boyer, Ernest L.	Spring 1979	Dr. of Humanities
Brademas, John	Fall 1992	Dr. of Humanities
Breslin, Jack	Spring 1986	Dr. of Laws
Brewster, Kingman, Jr.	Fall 1969	Dr. of Laws
Briggs, James Elbert	1959	Dr. of Laws
Briggs, Lyman James	1932	Dr. of Science
Broad, Eli	Fall 2002	Dr. of Humanities
Brody, Clark L.	1960	Dr. of Agriculture
Brohn, William David	Fall 1996	Dr. of Fine Arts
Bromley, D. Allan	Spring 1994	Dr. of Science
Brown, Lester R.	Fall 2006	Dr. of Agriculture
Brooke, Edward William	Spring 1974	Dr. of Laws
Brooker, Robert E.	Spring 1973	Dr. of Laws
Brooks, Anne E.	Spring 1997	Dr. of Science
Brown, Mark Malloch	Fall 2002	Dr. of Humanities
Brown, Prentiss Marsh	1958	Dr. of Laws
Brownell, Samuel Miller	1963	Dr. of Laws
Brulingame, Mark V.	Spring 196	Dr. of Science
Brundtland, Gro Harlem	Spring 2008	Dr. of Laws
Bryan, Enoch Albert	1907	Dr. of Laws
Bunche, Ralph J.	1964	Dr. of Laws
Bunting, W. Clark	Fall 2001	Dr. of Humane Letters
Burmester, Ben	Winter 1976	Dr. of Science
Burnett, Edgar Albert	1917	Dr. of Science
Bush, John Nash Douglas	Spring 1968	Dr. of Letters

Past Honorary Degree Recipients: Chronological List

1885-1936, 1937-1960, 1961-1971, 1972-1987, 1988-1999, 2000-present

Date Awarded	Degree	Name
1885	Master of Science	Charles Jay Monroe
1886	Master of Science	Samuel Johnson
1886	Master of Science	James Henry Wellings
1887	Bachelor of Science	James Cassidy
1887	Master of Science	Mason Daniel Chatterton
1887	Master of Science	Bela Hubbard
1887	Master of Science	Hal Clement Wyman
1889	Master of Science	Frederick Cleveland Miller
1891	Master of Horticulture	Theodatus Timothy Lyon
1891	Dr. of Laws	Allen Benton Morse
1891	Master of Agriculture	John T. Rich
1891	Dr. of Laws	Edwin Willits
1893	Dr. of Laws	Oscar Clute
1893	Master of Horticulture	Henry Graham Reynolds
1895	Master of Horticulture	Roland Morrill
1896	Dr. of Science	Robert Clark Kedzie
1900	Master of Science	A. B. Cardley
1900	Master of Science	Jason Elmer Hammond
1900	Master of Science	Wendall Paddock
1905	Dr. of Science	William James Beal
1905	Dr. of Science	Albert Kohn Cook
1907	Dr. of Laws	James Burrill Angell
1907	Dr. of Laws	Liberty Hyde Bailey
1907	Dr. of Laws	Enoch Albert Bryan
1907	Dr. of Laws	Rolla Clinton Carpenter
1907	Dr. of Laws	Herbert Winslow Collingwood
1907	Dr. of Laws	Mortimer Elwyn Cooley
1907	Dr. of Science	Charles Franklin Curtiss
1907	Dr. of Laws	Eugene Davenport
1907	Dr. of Science	Henry Hill Harrington
1907	Dr. of Science	William Arnon Henry
1907	Dr. of Science	Thomas Forsyth Hunt
1907	Dr. of Laws	Whitman Howard Jordan
1907	Dr. of Science	Gifford Pinchot
1907	Dr. of Laws	Winthrop Ellsworth Stone
1907	Dr. of Science	William Warner Tracey
1907	Dr. of Science	Henry Clay White
1907	Dr. of Laws	James Wilson
1908	Master of Science	Edward A. A. Grange
1912	Dr. of Science	Frank Stewart Kedzie
1913	Dr. of Science	Warren Babcock
1913	Master of Horticulture	Charles E. Bassett
1913	Master of Horticulture	James J. Jakaway
1913	Master of Arts	John Henry Moores
1913	Dr. of Science	William Alton Taylor
1916	Dr. of Science	Charles Christian Georgeson
1917	Dr. of Laws	Ray Stannard Baker
1917	Dr. of Science	Edgar Albert Burnett
1917	Dr. of Science	Arthur Burton Cordley
1917	Dr. of Laws	Charles William Garfield
1917	Dr. of Science	Clarence Preston Gillett
1917	Dr. of Science	Clarence Beaman Smith
1920	Dr. of Science	Hiram Taylor French
1920	Dr. of Science	Philip Bell Woodworth
1922	Dr. of Agriculture	Robert Sidey Shaw
1923	Dr. of Veterinary Medicine	Herman H. Halladay
1924	Dr. of Agriculture	Louis Guy Michael
1924	Dr. of Agriculture	Jason Woodman
1925	Master of Science	Jay William Slaughter
1927	Dr. of Engineering	Louis George Carpenter
1927	Master of Home Economics	Lenna Frances Cooper
1927	Dr. of Laws	Joseph Bell Cotton
1927	Master of Hwy. Engineering	Grover Cleveland Dillman
1927	Dr. of Laws	Howard Edwards
1927	Dr. of Engineering	Anson Marston
1927	Dr. of Agriculture	Frederick Blackmar Mumford
1927	Dr. of Agriculture	Herbert Windsor Mumford
1927	Master of Home Economics	Lydia Jane Roberts
1927	Dr. of Engineering	Frank Foster Rogers
1927	Master of Horticulture	Elmer Denison Smith
1927	Dr. of Forestry	James William Toumey
1928	Dr. of Laws	Edna Noble White
1930	Dr. of Engineering	George Welton Bissell
1931	Dr. of Science	Rufus Hiram Pettit
1932	Dr. of Letters	John W. Beaumont
1932	Dr. of Science	Lyman James Briggs
1932	Dr. of Science	Lawrence Twilley Clark
1932	Dr. of Forestry	Christopher Mabley Granger
1932	Master of Home Economics	Florence Louise Hall
1932	Dr. of Agriculture	John Clark Ketcham
1932	Dr. of Letters	Charles McKenny
1932	Dr. of Science	Richard A. Smith
1932	Mechanical Engineering	Horace Tucker Thomas
1932	Dr. of Letters	Dwight Bryant Waldo
1932	Dr. of Agriculture	Lucius Whitney Watkins
1933	Dr. of Laws	Major General Frank Parker
1934	Dr. of Science	James Henry Kimball
1934	Dr. of Laws	Dora Hall Stockman
1935	Dr. of Agriculture	James Harrison Skinner
1936	Dr. of Engineering	Henry Ford