* Convocation speaker
Commencement Speaker
| Year | Recipient | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 1967 | CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION | |
| 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 | Doctor 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 | ||
| Byron 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) | Doctor 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 | |