Honorary Degrees Awarded

* Convocation speaker

Commencement Speaker

YearRecipientDegree
Morgan College
1917Carrington L. DavisMaster of Arts
John T. FletcherMaster of Arts
Mason A. HawkinsMaster of Arts
John W. JewettMaster of Arts
Charles A. JohnsonMaster of Arts
Charles H. JohnsonMaster of Arts
Storer S. JolleyMaster of Arts
Mary R. KiahMaster of Arts
Lee M. McCoyMaster of Arts
George W. F. McMechenMaster of Arts
William A. T. MilesMaster of Arts
Theophileus R. ParkerMaster of Arts
1920W. Sampson Brooks,Doctor of Laws
Matthew S. Clair, Sr.Doctor of Laws
John W. GandyDoctor of Pedagogy
Thomas H. KiahDoctor of Pedagogy
1922McHenry J. NaylorDoctor of Divinity
John H. NutterDoctor of Divinity
1923William A. C. Hughes, Sr.Doctor of Divinity
Charles G. CummingsDoctor of Divinity
1924Joseph L. JenkinsDoctor of Divinity
William A. WarfieldDoctor of Science
1925James M. KingDoctor of Divinity
David E. SkeltonDoctor of Divinity
1926John T. GibsonDoctor of Laws
Matthew HensonMaster of Science
Joseph H. LockermanDoctor of Pedagogy
1929William F. CrockettDoctor of Laws
S. Bernard HughesDoctor of Science
Samuel H. SweeneyDoctor of Divinity
1930George E. CorryDoctor of Divinity
Charles A. TindleyDoctor of Divinity
1931Erasmus L. BaskervilleDoctor of Divinity
Robert F. CoatesDoctor of Divinity
Frederick J. HendyDoctor of Divinity
Francis M. WoodDoctor of Pedagogy
1932J. Raymond BrownDoctor of Divinity
Julius S. Carroll, Sr.Doctor of Divinity
Albert J. MitchellDoctor of Divinity
1934Matthew W. Clair, Jr.Doctor of Divinity
John S. GermanDoctor of Divinity
Fairfax F. KingDoctor of Divinity
Edgar C. YoungDoctor of Divinity
1935James W. JewettDoctor of Divinity
Edgar A. LoveDoctor of Divinity
John W. ScottDoctor of Education
Garnett C. WilkersonDoctor of Education
1936John R. BowmanDoctor of Education
William W. DavisDoctor of Divinity
G. David HoustonDoctor of Education
1937Charles W. BaldwinDoctor of Humane Letters
Robert E. JonesDoctor of Humane Letters
Edmund B. TrotmanDoctor of Divinity
1938James D. BrowneDoctor of Divinity
Samuel J. HorseyDoctor of Divinity
Morgan State College
1939Leslie Pinckney HillDoctor of Laws
Zora Neale HurstonDoctor of Literature
C. F. Abram OtleyDoctor of Literature
1940Jane M. BolinDoctor of Laws
Eugene A. ClarkDoctor of Education
George B. MurphyDoctor of Laws
Harold L. TriggDoctor of Education
1950Elmer A. Henderson, Sr.Doctor of Laws
Percy L. JulianDoctor of Science
1951Ralph J. BuncheDoctor of Laws
Carrington L. DavisDoctor of Laws
William Levi DawsonDoctor of Laws
Theodore R. McKeldinDoctor of Laws
1952John W. DavisDoctor of Laws
Dwight O. W. HolmesDoctor of Laws
Thurgood MarshallDoctor of Laws
Herbert Romulus O’ConnorDoctor of Laws
1953Houston R. JacksonDoctor of Laws
William P. LaneDoctor of Laws
Morris A. SoperDoctor of Laws
Furman L. TempletonDoctor of Laws
1954Bliss ForbushDoctor of Laws
Charles H. ThompsonDoctor of Laws
Phillip B. PerlmanDoctor of Laws
Thomas G. Pullen, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Clarence L. SimpsonDoctor of Laws
1955John Henry FischerDoctor of Laws
Simon E. SobeloffDoctor of Laws
Charles E. CornishDoctor of Laws
Branch RickeyDoctor of Laws
E. Franklin FrazierDoctor of Laws
1956Ambrose CaliverDoctor of Laws
Norbert R. DavidsonDoctor of Laws
William H. HastieDoctor of Laws
Lillie May JacksonDoctor of Laws
1957Marion AndersonDoctor of Laws
Milton S. EisenhowerDoctor of Laws
George W. F. McMechenDoctor of Laws
Lewis M. StevensDoctor of Laws
1958Helen Gray EdmondsDoctor of Laws
Martin Luther King, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Walter Sondheim, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Jacob BlausteinDoctor of Laws
1959Harry BardDoctor of Laws
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr.Doctor of Laws
William Lafayette FitzgeraldDoctor of Laws
Asa Philip RandolphDoctor of Laws
1960W. E. B. Du BoisDoctor of Laws
Willard W. AllenDoctor of Laws
John Hope FranklinDoctor of Laws
Harold A. StevensDoctor of Laws
J. Millard TawesDoctor of Laws
1961L. Manuel HenderDoctor of Laws
Sidney Hollander, Sr.Doctor of Humanities
Noah Watson MooreDoctor of Laws
Asa T. SpauldingDoctor of Business Administration
H. Milton WagnerDoctor of Laws
Charles H. WesleyDoctor of Pedagogy
1962Carl F. HansonDoctor of Humane Letters
Robert C. WeaverDoctor of Laws
Edward N. WilsonDoctor of Laws
Ralph J. YoungDoctor of Laws
1963Kenneth B. ClarkDoctor of Laws
Benjamin Oliver DavisDoctor of Laws
John Wilfred Haywood, Sr.Doctor of Humane Letters
Lawrence Cardinal ShehanDoctor of Laws
Clifton Reginald WhartonDoctor of Civil Law
Roy WilkensDoctor of Social Science
1964Eugene Carton BlakeDoctor of Laws
W. Montague CobbDoctor of Laws
Nathaniel Adams ColeDoctor of Fine Arts
Eleanor D. CornerDoctor of Humanities
Edward R. DudleyDoctor of Civil Law
James FarmerDoctor of Humanities
Herbert M. FrisbyDoctor of Laws
Carl T. RowanDoctor of Public Administration
1965Whitney M. Young, Jr.Doctor of Humanities
William Leo HansberryDoctor of Literature
Stephen J. WrightDoctor of Laws
Cedric Earl MillsDoctor of Sacred Theology
William Edward HenryDoctor of Laws
Mary Baskerville BrooksDoctor of Pedagogy
1966Adelyn Dohme BreeskinDoctor of Fine Arts
John Wesley LordDoctor of Sacred Theology
Constance Baker MotleyDoctor of Laws
James M. Nabrit, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Arthur J. PayneDoctor of Sacred Theology
1967CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
Edward Kennedy EllingtonDoctor of Music
Benjamin E. MaysDoctor of Laws
Samuel M. NabritDoctor of Laws
Spiro T. AgnewDoctor of Laws
Patricia R. HarrisDoctor of Laws
Edward G. CarrollDoctor of Laws
Fred I. ArchibaldDoctor of Laws
Clarence Mitchell, Jr.Doctor of Laws
John T. WilliamsDoctor of Laws
1968Bentley GlassDoctor of Laws
Samuel Lloyd MyersDoctor of Laws
James Wilson RouseDoctor of Laws
Merze TateDoctor of Laws
Hale Aspacio WoodruffDoctor of Fine Arts
1969Arna BontempsDoctor of Humane Letters
Thomas J. D’Alesandro, IIIDoctor of Laws
Percy Ellis SuttonDoctor of Laws
1970Edward Paulette HurtDoctor of Laws
Martin David JenkinsDoctor of Humane Letters
Coretta Scott kingDoctor of Laws
1971Julian BondDoctor of Laws
Ramsey ClarkDoctor of Laws
Marvin MandelDoctor of Laws
Melvin H. EvansDoctor of Humane Letters
1972Joseph C. HowardDoctor of Laws
Jesse L. JacksonDoctor of Humane Letters
1973Louis L. GoldsteinDoctor of Laws
Parren James MitchellDoctor of Humane Letters
Earl G. GravesDoctor of Laws
1974Robert Bernard WattsDoctor of Laws
Benjamin Arthur QuarlesDoctor of Humane Letters
1975Harry Augustus ColeDoctor of Laws
Gerald Hough TrautmanDoctor of Laws
Benjamin Franklin PaytonDoctor of Humane Letters
Thomas Petigru FraserDoctor of Science
Morgan State University
1976Verda Freeman WelcomeDoctor of Laws
Margaret Walker AlexanderDoctor of Humane Letters
Howard Lee CornishDoctor of Humane Letters
Elizabeth Murphy MossDoctor of Humane Letters
Steven MullerDoctor of Humane Letters
Henry Green Parks, Jr.Doctor of Humane Letters
1977Andrew J. YoungDoctor of Humane Letters
Margaret Bush WilsonDoctor of Laws
1978Clifford Leopold Alexander, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Otis Milton SmithDoctor of Laws
Ernesta Gertrude ProcopeDoctor of Humane Letters
1979Cicely TysonDoctor of Humane Letters
Robert C. Embry, Jr.Doctor of Laws
James Hubert BlakeDoctor of Music
Chloe Anthony MorrisonDoctor of Literature
1980W. Wilson GoodeDoctor of Humane Letters
Hugh Morris GlosterDoctor of Humane Letters
Clarence W. BlountDoctor of Laws
1981Lerone Bennett, Jr.Doctor of Humane Letters
Lillian L. AdlerDoctor of Humane Letters
Abraham M. AdlerDoctor of Humane Letters
Hazel Winifred JohnsonDoctor of Humanities
1982Max RobinsonDoctor of Humane Letters
1983William Donald SchaeferDoctor of Laws
Emmanuel C. IwauanyanwuDoctor of Engineering Science
Emmanuel Chukwuma NnamaDoctor of Engineering Science
Joseph “Joe” Black, Jr.Doctor of Professional Studies
1984A. Leon Higgenbotham, Jr.Doctor of Humane Letters
Guion S. BlufordDoctor of Engineering Science
Juanita Jackson MitchellDoctor of Laws
1985Juanita Kidd StoutDoctor of Laws
1986Terrence A. TodmanDoctor of Public Administration
Cabell “Cab” CallowayDoctor of Fine Arts
1987Benjamin Lawson HooksDoctor of Humane Letters
Harry Roe HughesDoctor of Laws
1988Kurt Lidell SchmokeDoctor of Laws
Luna Isaac MishoeDoctor of Laws
Reginald F. LewisDoctor of Laws
1989Hughlyn F. FierceDoctor of Laws
Kweisi MfumeDoctor of Laws
1990Barbara A. MikulskiDoctor of Laws
Kenneth I. ChenaultDoctor of Laws
1991Jester J. Hairston *Doctor of Music
Enolia McMillanDoctor of Laws
Maxine Waters (CS)Doctor of Laws
1992Carolyn Reid-WallaceDoctor of Laws
Bernard C. Watson *Doctor of Laws
1993Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Elizabeth CatlettDoctor of Humane Letters
1994Charles L. BentonDoctor of Laws
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr.Doctor of Science
August WilsonDoctor of Humane Letters
1995James Howard Gilliam, Jr.Doctor of Laws
Samuel H. Lacy, Sr.Doctor of Laws
Corlis L. MoodyDoctor of Public Administration
1996Francis Wheatley GatesDoctor of Laws
Robert M. BellDoctor of Laws
Peter R. KannDoctor of Literature
Randall RobinsonDoctor of Laws
1997President William Jefferson ClintonDoctor of Laws
Alexis M. Herman *Doctor of Laws
Richard N. DixonDoctor of Laws
Levi Watkins, Jr.Doctor of Science
1998Rodney E. SlaterDoctor of Laws
Shirley M. McBayDoctor of Laws
Steven David DorfmanDoctor of Science
Elijah SaundersDoctor of Science
Robert Benjamin Johnson *Doctor of Public Service
1999Paul Spyros SarbanesDoctor of Laws
William L. JewsDoctor of Laws
2000Gen. Larry Rudell EllisDoctor of Laws
The Honorable Robert L. MallettDoctor of Laws
Samuel Thornton DanielsDoctor of Public Service
Richard Ishmael McKinneyDoctor of Humane Letters
2001Mayor Willie L. Brown, IIDoctor of Laws
Dr. Carla Diane HaydenDoctor of Humane Letters
Rev. Marion Curtis BascomDoctor of Public Service
2002Stacey Helene DavisDoctor of Public Service
Dr. John Brooks SlaughterDoctor of Science
2003Charles Michael CawleyDoctor of Laws
Hon. Michael Stephen SteeleDoctor of Laws
2004Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzieDoctor of Laws
Harlow Fullwood, Jr. Doctor of Public Service
Calvin Tyler, Jr. Doctor of Laws
2005Hon. James E. ClyburnDoctor of Public Service
Tyrone D. TabornDoctor of Public Service
2006Hon. Elijah E. CummingsDoctor of Laws
Victorine Quille AdamsDoctor of Public Service
D. James BakerDoctor of Science
Bishop John R. BryantDoctor of Humane Letters
2007Hon. Pamela E. BridgewaterDoctor of Public Service
Catherine Liggins HughesDoctor of Public Service
Gen. William E. “Kip” WardDoctor of Public Service
2008James L. Fisher Doctor of Laws
Loida Nicholas LewisDoctor of Laws
Gloria RichardsonDoctor of Laws
2009Benjamin Todd JealousDoctor of Public Service
2010Linda GoodenDoctor of Laws
Valerie JarrettDoctor of Laws
Earl S. Richardson Doctor of Laws
Sheila B. RichardsonDoctor of Public Service
H. D e Wayne WhittingtonDoctor of Laws
2011Eddie C. BrownDoctor of Public Service
Henrietta Lacks (posthumously)Doctor of Public Service
Ruth SimmonsDoctor of Humane Letters
2012Larry GibsonDoctor of Laws
Shirley Ann JacksonDoctor of Science
H. E. Tebelelo Mazile SeretseDoctor of Laws
2013MAY
Hon. Arne DuncanDoctor of Humane Letters
Hon. Fred David GrayDoctor of Humane Letters
Hon. Charles Vert WillieDoctor of Humane Letters
DECEMBER
Byron PittsDoctor of Humane Letters
2014MAY
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. ColvinDoctor of Public Service
2015MAY
Graça Simbine MachelDoctor of Public Service
Nelson Mandela (posthumously)Doctor of Humane Letters
James Edward Maceo West Doctor of Science
DECEMBER
Autherine Lucy FosterDoctor of Public Service
Morgan Student Civil Rights Pioneers (Group)Doctor of Laws
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. (Presidential Citation— Distinguished Achievement Award)
2016MAY
Kevin LilesDoctor of Laws
Hon. Nancy PelosiDoctor of Public Service
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
DECEMBER
Willie E. Lanier, Sr.Doctor of Laws
2017SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
MAY
C. Sylvia BrownDoctor of Public Service
Sheldon GoldsekerDoctor of Public Service
April RyanDoctor of Laws
Hon. Joseph BidenDoctor of Public Service
SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
DECEMBER
Hon. Boyd K. RutherfordDoctor 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 CheekDoctor of Laws
Andrew BillingsleyDoctor of Laws
2018MAY
Stanley NelsonDoctor of Humane Letters
Gloria Ladson-BillingsDoctor of Laws
Tom JoynerDoctor of Laws
DECEMBER
Hon. Elizabeth WarrenDoctor of Laws
Clara I. AdamsDoctor of Laws
Eugene M. DeLoatch Doctor of Laws
2019MAY
William C. RhodenDoctor of Humane Letters
DECEMBER
Jesse Eugene RussellDoctor of Science
2021MAY
Michael V. Drake, M.D. Doctor of Laws
Lonnie Liston SmithDoctor of Fine Arts
2022MAY
David E. Talbert Doctor of Fine Arts
David BurtonDoctor of Humane Letters
Colin KaepernickDoctor of Humane Letters
DECEMBER
Gov. Elect Wes Moore Doctor of Humane Letters
Adrienne A. JonesDoctor of Humane Letters
Melvin Miles Jr.Doctor of Fine Arts
2023MAY
Benjamin L. Crump Doctor of Laws
Ruthe T. SheffeyDoctor of Humane Letters
DECEMBER
Kim Godwin Doctor of Public Service
Larry HoganDoctor of Public Service
George A. PruittDoctor of Humane Letters
2024MAY
Sir Samuel Esson Jonah Doctor of Engineering
Valerie LaVerne ThomasDoctor of Science