Honorary Degrees Awarded

Morgan College

1917
Carrington L. Davis - Master of Arts
John T. Fletcher - Master of Arts
Mason A. Hawkins - Master of Arts
John W. Jewett - Master of Arts
Charles A. Johnson - Master of Arts
Charles H. Johnson - Master of Arts
Storer S. Jolley - Master of Arts
Mary R. Kiah - Master of Arts
Lee M. McCoy - Master of Arts
George W. F. McMechen - Master of Arts
William A. T. Miles - Master of Arts
Theophileus R. Parker - Master of Arts

1920
W. Sampson Brooks, - Doctor of Laws
Matthew S. Clair, Sr. - Doctor of Laws
John W. Gandy - Doctor of Pedagogy
Thomas H. Kiah - Doctor of Pedagogy

1922
McHenry J. Naylor - Doctor of Divinity
John H. Nutter - Doctor of Divinity

1923
William A. C. Hughes, Sr. - Doctor of Divinity
Charles G. Cummings - Doctor of Divinity

1924
Joseph L. Jenkins - Doctor of Divinity
William A. Warfield - Doctor of Science

1925
James M. King - Doctor of Divinity
David E. Skelton - Doctor of Divinity

1926
John T. Gibson - Doctor of Laws
Matthew Henson - Master of Science
Joseph H. Lockerman - Doctor of Pedagogy

1929
William F. Crockett - Doctor of Laws
S. Bernard Hughes - Doctor of Science
Samuel H. Sweeney - Doctor of Divinity

1930
George E. Corry - Doctor of Divinity
Charles A. Tindley - Doctor of Divinity

1931
Erasmus L. Baskerville - Doctor of Divinity
Robert F. Coates - Doctor of Divinity
Frederick J. Hendy - Doctor of Divinity
Francis M. Wood - Doctor of Pedagogy

1932
J. Raymond Brown - Doctor of Divinity
Julius S. Carroll, Sr. - Doctor of Divinity
Albert J. Mitchell - Doctor of Divinity

1934
Matthew W. Clair, Jr. - Doctor of Divinity
John S. German - Doctor of Divinity
Fairfax F. King - Doctor of Divinity
Edgar C. Young - Doctor of Divinity

1935
James W. Jewett - Doctor of Divinity
Edgar A. Love - Doctor of Divinity
John W. Scott - Doctor of Education
Garnett C. Wilkerson - Doctor of Education

1936
John R. Bowman - Doctor of Education
William W. Davis - Doctor of Divinity
G. David Houston - Doctor of Education

1937
Charles W. Baldwin - Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert E. Jones - Doctor of Humane Letters
Edmund B. Trotman - Doctor of Divinity

1938
James D. Browne - Doctor of Divinity
Samuel J. Horsey - Doctor of Divinity

Morgan State College

1939
Leslie Pinckney Hill - Doctor of Laws
Zora Neale Hurston - Doctor of Literature
C. F. Abram Otley - Doctor of Literature

1940
Jane M. Bolin - Doctor of Laws
Eugene A. Clark - Doctor of Education
George B. Murphy - Doctor of Laws
Harold L. Trigg - Doctor of Education

1950
Elmer A. Henderson, Sr. - Doctor of Laws
Percy L. Julian - Doctor of Science

1951
† Ralph J. Bunche - Doctor of Laws
Carrington L. Davis - Doctor of Laws
William Levi Dawson - Doctor of Laws
Theodore R. McKeldin - Doctor of Laws

1952
John W. Davis - Doctor of Laws
Dwight O. W. Holmes - Doctor of Laws
Thurgood Marshall - Doctor of Laws
Herbert Romulus O’Connor - Doctor of Laws

1953
Houston R. Jackson - Doctor of Laws
William P. Lane - Doctor of Laws
Morris A. Soper - Doctor of Laws
Furman L. Templeton - Doctor of Laws

1954
Bliss Forbush - Doctor of Laws
Charles H. Thompson - Doctor of Laws
Phillip B. Perlman - Doctor of Laws
Thomas G. Pullen, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Clarence L. Simpson - Doctor of Laws

1955
John Henry Fischer - Doctor of Laws
Simon E. Sobeloff - Doctor of Laws
Charles E. Cornish - Doctor of Laws
Branch Rickey - Doctor of Laws
E. Franklin Frazier - Doctor of Laws

1956
Ambrose Caliver - Doctor of Laws
Norbert R. Davidson - Doctor of Laws
† William H. Hastie - Doctor of Laws
Lillie May Jackson - Doctor of Laws

1957
Marion Anderson - Doctor of Laws
Milton S. Eisenhower - Doctor of Laws
George W. F. McMechen - Doctor of Laws
Lewis M. Stevens - Doctor of Laws

1958
Helen Gray Edmonds - Doctor of Laws
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Walter Sondheim, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Jacob Blaustein - Doctor of Laws

1959
Harry Bard - Doctor of Laws
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. - Doctor of Laws
William Lafayette Fitzgerald - Doctor of Laws
Asa Philip Randolph - Doctor of Laws

1960
W. E. B. Du Bois - Doctor of Laws
Willard W. Allen - Doctor of Laws
John Hope Franklin - Doctor of Laws
Harold A. Stevens - Doctor of Laws
J. Millard Tawes - Doctor of Laws

1961
L. Manuel Hender - Doctor of Laws
Sidney Hollander, Sr. - Doctor of Humanities
Noah Watson Moore - Doctor of Laws
Asa T. Spaulding - Doctor of Business Administration
H. Milton Wagner - Doctor of Laws
Charles H. Wesley - Doctor of Pedagogy

1962
Carl F. Hanson - Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert C. Weaver - Doctor of Laws
Edward N. Wilson - Doctor of Laws
Ralph J. Young - Doctor of Laws

1963
Kenneth B. Clark - Doctor of Laws
Benjamin Oliver Davis - Doctor of Laws
John Wilfred Haywood, Sr. - Doctor of Humane Letters
Lawrence Cardinal Shehan - Doctor of Laws
Clifton Reginald Wharton - Doctor of Civil Law
Roy Wilkens - Doctor of Social Science

1964
Eugene Carton Blake - Doctor of Laws
W. Montague Cobb - Doctor of Laws
Nathaniel Adams Cole - Doctor of Fine Arts
Eleanor D. Corner - Doctor of Humanities
Edward R. Dudley - Doctor of Civil Law
James Farmer - Doctor of Humanities
Herbert M. Frisby - Doctor of Laws
Carl T. Rowan - Doctor of Public Administration

1965
Whitney M. Young, Jr. - Doctor of Humanities
William Leo Hansberry - Doctor of Literature
Stephen J. Wright - Doctor of Laws
Cedric Earl Mills - Doctor of Sacred Theology
William Edward Henry - Doctor of Laws
Mary Baskerville Brooks - Doctor of Pedagogy

1966
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin - Doctor of Fine Arts
John Wesley Lord - Doctor of Sacred Theology
Constance Baker Motley - Doctor of Laws
James M. Nabrit, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Arthur J. Payne - Doctor of Sacred Theology

Centennial Celebration

1967
Edward Kennedy Ellington - Doctor of Music
Benjamin E. Mays - Doctor of Laws
Samuel M. Nabrit - Doctor of Laws
Spiro T. Agnew - Doctor of Laws
Patricia R. Harris - Doctor of Laws
Edward G. Carroll - Doctor of Laws
Fred I. Archibald - Doctor of Laws
Clarence Mitchell, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
John T. Williams - Doctor of Laws

1968
Bentley Glass - Doctor of Laws
Samuel Lloyd Myers - Doctor of Laws
James Wilson Rouse - Doctor of Laws
Merze Tate - Doctor of Laws
Hale Aspacio Woodruff - Doctor of Fine Arts

1969
Arna Bontemps - Doctor of Humane Letters
Thomas J. D’Alesandro, III - Doctor of Laws
Percy Ellis Sutton - Doctor of Laws

1970
Edward Paulette Hurt - Doctor of Laws
Martin David Jenkins - Doctor of Humane Letters
Coretta Scott king - Doctor of Laws

1971
Julian Bond - Doctor of Laws
Ramsey Clark - Doctor of Laws
Marvin Mandel - Doctor of Laws
Melvin H. Evans - Doctor of Humane Letters

1972
Joseph C. Howard - Doctor of Laws
Jesse L. Jackson - Doctor of Humane Letters

1973
Louis L. Goldstein - Doctor of Laws
Parren James Mitchell - Doctor of Humane Letters
Earl G. Graves - Doctor of Laws

1974
Robert Bernard Watts - Doctor of Laws
Benjamin Arthur Quarles - Doctor of Humane Letters

1975
Harry Augustus Cole - Doctor of Laws
Gerald Hough Trautman - Doctor of Laws
Benjamin Franklin Payton - Doctor of Humane Letters
Thomas Petigru Fraser - Doctor of Science

Morgan State University

1976
Verda Freeman Welcome - Doctor of Laws
Margaret Walker Alexander - Doctor of Humane Letters
Howard Lee Cornish - Doctor of Humane Letters
Elizabeth Murphy Moss - Doctor of Humane Letters
Steven Muller - Doctor of Humane Letters
Henry Green Parks, Jr. - Doctor of Humane Letters

1977
Andrew J. Young - Doctor of Humane Letters
Margaret Bush Wilson - Doctor of Laws

1978
Clifford Leopold Alexander, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Otis Milton Smith - Doctor of Laws
Ernesta Gertrude Procope - Doctor of Humane Letters

1979
Cicely Tyson - Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert C. Embry, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
James Hubert Blake - Doctor of Music
† Chloe Anthony Morrison - Doctor of Literature

1980
W. Wilson Goode - Doctor of Humane Letters
Hugh Morris Gloster - Doctor of Humane Letters
Clarence W. Blount - Doctor of Laws

1981
† Lerone Bennett, Jr. - Doctor of Humane Letters
Lillian L. Adler - Doctor of Humane Letters
Abraham M. Adler - Doctor of Humane Letters
Hazel Winifred Johnson - Doctor of Humanities

1982
† Max Robinson - Doctor of Humane Letters

1983
William Donald Schaefer - Doctor of Laws
Emmanuel C. Iwauanyanwu - Doctor of Engineering Science
Emmanuel Chukwuma Nnama - Doctor of Engineering Science
Joseph “Joe” Black, Jr. - Doctor of Professional Studies

1984
A. Leon Higgenbotham, Jr. - Doctor of Humane Letters
Guion S. Bluford - Doctor of Engineering Science
Juanita Jackson Mitchell - Doctor of Laws

1985
† Juanita Kidd Stout - Doctor of Laws

1986
Terrence A. Todman - Doctor of Public Administration
Cabell “Cab” Calloway - Doctor of Fine Arts

1987
Benjamin Lawson Hooks - Doctor of Humane Letters
Harry Roe Hughes - Doctor of Laws

1988
Kurt Lidell Schmoke - Doctor of Laws
Luna Isaac Mishoe - Doctor of Laws
Reginald F. Lewis - Doctor of Laws

1989
Hughlyn F. Fierce - Doctor of Laws
Kweisi Mfume - Doctor of Laws

1990
† Barbara A. Mikulski - Doctor of Laws
† Kenneth I. Chenault - Doctor of Laws

1991
† Jester J. Hairston * - Doctor of Music
Enolia McMillan - Doctor of Laws
Maxine Waters (CS) - Doctor of Laws

1992
† Carolyn Reid-Wallace - Doctor of Laws
Bernard C. Watson * - Doctor of Laws

1993
† Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Elizabeth Catlett - Doctor of Humane Letters

1994
Charles L. Benton - Doctor of Laws
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr. - Doctor of Science
† August Wilson - Doctor of Humane Letters

1995
James Howard Gilliam, Jr. - Doctor of Laws
Samuel H. Lacy, Sr. - Doctor of Laws
Corlis L. Moody - Doctor of Public Administration

1996
Francis Wheatley Gates - Doctor of Laws
Robert M. Bell - Doctor of Laws
Peter R. Kann - Doctor of Literature
† Randall Robinson - Doctor of Laws

1997
† President William Jefferson Clinton - Doctor of Laws
Alexis M. Herman * - Doctor of Laws
Richard N. Dixon - Doctor of Laws
Levi Watkins, Jr. - Doctor of Science

1998
Rodney E. Slater - Doctor of Laws
† Shirley M. McBay - Doctor of Laws
Steven David Dorfman - Doctor of Science
Elijah Saunders - Doctor of Science
Robert Benjamin Johnson * - Doctor of Public Service

1999
† Paul Spyros Sarbanes - Doctor of Laws
William L. Jews - Doctor of Laws

2000
† Gen. Larry Rudell Ellis - Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Robert L. Mallett - Doctor of Laws
Samuel Thornton Daniels - Doctor of Public Service
Richard Ishmael McKinney - Doctor of Humane Letters

2001
† Mayor Willie L. Brown, II - Doctor of Laws
Dr. Carla Diane Hayden - Doctor of Humane Letters
Rev. Marion Curtis Bascom - Doctor of Public Service

2002
† Stacey Helene Davis - Doctor of Public Service
Dr. John Brooks Slaughter - Doctor of Science

2003
Charles Michael Cawley - Doctor of Laws
† Hon. Michael Stephen Steele - Doctor of Laws

2004
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie - Doctor of Laws
Harlow Fullwood, Jr. - Doctor of Public Service
Calvin Tyler, Jr. - Doctor of Laws

2005
† Hon. James E. Clyburn - Doctor of Public Service
Tyrone D. Taborn - Doctor of Public Service

2006
† Hon. Elijah E. Cummings - Doctor of Laws
Victorine Quille Adams - Doctor of Public Service
D. James Baker - Doctor of Science
Bishop John R. Bryant - Doctor of Humane Letters

2007
Hon. Pamela E. Bridgewater D- octor of Public Service
† Catherine Liggins Hughes - Doctor of Public Service
Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward - Doctor of Public Service

2008
James L. Fisher - Doctor of Laws
† Loida Nicholas Lewis - Doctor of Laws
Gloria Richardson - Doctor of Laws

2009
† Benjamin Todd Jealous - Doctor of Public Service

2010
Linda Gooden - Doctor of Laws
† Valerie Jarrett - Doctor of Laws
Earl S. Richardson -  - Doctor of Laws
Sheila B. Richardson - Doctor of Public Service
H. D e Wayne Whittington - Doctor of Laws

2011
Eddie C. Brown - Doctor of Public Service
Henrietta Lacks (posthumously) - Doctor of Public Service
† Ruth Simmons - Doctor of Humane Letters

2012
Larry Gibson - Doctor of Laws
† Shirley Ann Jackson - Doctor of Science
H. E. Tebelelo Mazile Seretse - Doctor of Laws

2013
MAY
† Hon. Arne Duncan - Doctor of Humane Letters
Hon. Fred David Gray - Doctor of Humane Letters
Hon. Charles Vert Willie - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
B† yron Pitts - Doctor of Humane Letters

2014
MAY
† Calvin G. Butler, Jr. - Doctor of Humane Letters
† Eric H. Holder, Jr.
(Brown v. Board of Education 60th Anniversary Commemoration Speaker) - Doctor of Laws
Sylvester James Gates, Jr. - Doctor of Science
Joseph T. Jones, Jr. - Doctor of Public Service

NOVEMBER (FOUNDER’S DAY)
Carl J. Murphy (posthumously) - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
† Hon. Carolyn W. Colvin - Doctor of Public Service

2015
MAY
† Graça Simbine Machel - Doctor of Public Service
Nelson Mandela (posthumously) - Doctor of Humane Letters
James Edward Maceo West - Doctor of Science

DECEMBER
Autherine Lucy Foster - Doctor of Public Service
Morgan Student Civil Rights Pioneers (Group) D- octor of Laws
† Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. (Presidential Citation— Distinguished Achievement Award)

2016
MAY
Kevin Liles - Doctor of Laws
† Hon. Nancy Pelosi - Doctor of Public Service

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION - DECEMBER
Willie E. Lanier, Sr. - Doctor of Laws

2017
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION - MAY
C. Sylvia Brown - Doctor of Public Service
Sheldon Goldseker - Doctor of Public Service
April Ryan - Doctor of Laws
† Hon. Joseph Biden - Doctor of Public Service

SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION - DECEMBER
† Hon. Boyd K. Rutherford - Doctor of Public Service
John Emory Round (posthumously) - Doctor of Laws
William Frysinger (posthumously) - Doctor of Laws
Francis Wagner (posthumously) - Doctor of Laws
John Oakley Spencer (posthumously) - Doctor of Laws
King Virgil Cheek - Doctor of Laws
Andrew Billingsley - Doctor of Laws

2018
MAY
Stanley Nelson - Doctor of Humane Letters
Gloria Ladson-Billings - Doctor of Laws
† Tom Joyner - Doctor of Laws

DECEMBER
† Hon. Elizabeth Warren - Doctor of Laws
Clara I. Adams - Doctor of Laws
Eugene M. DeLoatch - Doctor of Laws

2019
MAY
William C. Rhoden - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
Jesse Eugene Russell - Doctor of Science

2021
MAY
† Michael V. Drake, M.D. - Doctor of Laws
Lonnie Liston Smith - Doctor of Fine Arts

2022
MAY
† David E. Talbert - Doctor of Fine Arts
David Burton - Doctor of Humane Letters
Colin Kaepernick - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
† Gov. Elect Wes Moore - Doctor of Humane Letters
Adrienne A. Jones - Doctor of Humane Letters
Melvin Miles Jr. - Doctor of Fine Arts

2023
MAY
† Benjamin L. Crump - Doctor of Laws
Ruthe T. Sheffey - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
† Kim Godwin - Doctor of Public Service
Larry Hogan - Doctor of Public Service
George A. Pruitt - Doctor of Humane Letters

2024
MAY
† Sir Samuel Esson Jonah - Doctor of Engineering
Valerie LaVerne Thomas - Doctor of Science

DECEMBER
† Mayor Ed Gainey - Doctor of Public Service
Mary Elaine Proctor Blackwell - Doctor of Public Service

2025
MAY
† Thasunda Brown Duckett - Doctor of Laws
Juan E. Gilbert - Doctor of Science
Burney J. Hollis - Doctor of Humane Letters

DECEMBER
† Hon. Reverend Raphael G. Warnock - Doctor of Public Service
DeWayne Wickham - Doctor of Humane Letters

* Convocation Speaker
† Commencement Speaker