Honorary Degrees

Dating back to the first Commencement in 1769, the Board of Fellows of the Brown Corporation has bestowed honorary degrees upon individuals of distinction and accomplishment, recognizing their leadership and contribution to society in many fields and disciplines. Honorary degree candidates are selected for both their renown and the reflection in their life and in their work of the values and mission of Brown as an academic community.

2000s • 1900s1800s1700s

Year Degree Name Notes
2023 L.H.D. Douglas W. Diamond
2023 LL.D. Elaine G. Luria
2023 L.H.D Bernicestine Elizabeth McLeod Bailey ('68)
2023 L.H.D. Kevin Mundt ('76)
2023 L.H.D. Ruth Oppenheim
2023 LL.D. Gina Raimondo
2022 L.H.D. Nicole Alexander-Scott (MPH'11)
2022 D.M.S. Seth Berkley ('78, MD'81)
2022 L.H.D. Guido Imbens (PhD'91)
2022 D.F.A. Stanley Nelson
2022 LL.D. Nancy Pelosi
2022 D.F.A. Shaggy
2022 L.H.D. Alice Tisch
2022 L.H.D. Thomas Tisch ('76)
2022 L.H.D. Zeynep Tüfekçi
2021 L.H.D. Norman Atkins ('84)
2021 LH.D. George H. Billings ('72) (off cycle)
2021 L.H.D. Steven R. Jordan ('82)
2021 Sc.D. David Lobell ('00)
2021 L.H.D. Maud S. Mandel
2021 Sc.D. Jessica U. Meir ('99)
2021 LL.D. Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson ('73)
2019 L.H.D. Ken Burns
2019 L.H.D. Sheryl Brissett Chapman ('71)
2019 D.F.A. John Krasinski ('01)
2019 L.H.D. Jennifer Anne Richeson ('94)
2019 L.H.D. David M. Rubenstein
2019 L.H.D. E. Paul Sorensen ('71, ScM'75, PhD'77)
2019 L.H.D. Joan Wernig Sorensen ('72)
2018 L.H.D. Lonnie G. Bunch III
2018 L.H.D. Robert J. Carney ('61) (off cycle; in Houston)
2018 L.H.D. Nancy D. Carney (off cycle; in Houston)
2018 Sc.D. John Michael Kosterlitz
2018 L.H.D. Beverly E. Ledbetter
2018 L.H.D. Nancy Northup ('81)
2018 D.F.A. Giuseppe Penone
2018 L.H.D. Sting
2018 L.H.D. Trudie Styler
2017 D.F.A. Robert De Niro
2017 D.F.A. Daveed Diggs ('04)
2017 L.H.D. Donald C. Hood (ScM'68, PhD'70)
2017 L.H.D. Indra K. Nooyi
2017 L.H.D Richard D. Parsons
2017 Litt.D. Rosmarie Waldrop
2016 Sc.D. Cornelia Isabella Bargmann
2016 D.M.S. Thomas G. Catena (’86) (in absentia; accepted by Gene and Nancy Catena)
2016 D.F.A. Umberto Crenca
2016 L.H.D. Angus Deaton
2016 L.H.D. Kevin Gover
2016 L.H.D. Antonia Hernández
2016 L.H.D. Jean Elizabeth Howard (’70)
2016 L.H.D. Charles M. Rosenthal
2015 L.H.D. Robert Anthony Corrigan (’57)
2015 L.H.D. Louise Lamphere
2015 L.H.D.  David E. McKinney
2015 D.F.A. Tracee Ellis Ross (’94)
2015 Sc.D.  Susan Solomon
2015 Sc.D. Kathryn D. Sullivan
2014 L.H.D. Beatrice E. Coleman (’25) (posthumously)
2014 L.H.D.  Lee Eliot Berk (’64)
2014 Litt.D.  Jeffrey Eugenides (’82)
2014 D.M.S. Arthur L. Horwich (’72, MD’75)
2014 Sc.D. Mary Lou Jepsen (’87, PhD’97)
2014 L.H.D. Debra L. Lee (’76)
2014 Litt.D. Lois Lowry(’58)
2014 Sc.D. Nalini Moreshwar Nadkarni (’76)
2014 LL.D. Thomas E. Perez (’83)
2013 D.F.A. Affleck, Benjamin
2013 Litt.D. Díaz, Junot
2013 Sc.D. Falkow, Stanley (’61)
2013 L.H.D. Hogan, Beverly Wade
2013 D.M.S. Lavizzo-Mourey, Risa J.
2013 L.H.D. Padrón, Eduardo J.
2012 Sc.D. Bertozzi, Carolyn
2012 D. F. A. Davis, Viola
2012 LL.D. Lewis, John Robert
2012 Litt.D. Robinson, Marilynne Summers (’66)
2012 Mus.D. Ruth, Sebastian A. (’97)
2012 Litt.D. Sawyer, Diane
2012 L.H.D. Sharp, Gene
2012 L.H.D. Simmons, Ruth J.
2012 Sc.D. Yang, Wei (’85)
2011 L.H.D. Kaplan, Herbert (off cycle; Medical School building dedication)
2011 L.H.D. King Crowley, Katie (’97)
2011 L.H.D. Huffington, Arianna
2011 Litt.D. Kristof, Nicholas D.
2011 Sc.D. Mumford, David B.
2011 D.F.A. Nicholson, John J. (Jack)
2011 D.F.A. Nottage, Lynn Ida (’86)
2011 Sc.D. Randall, Lisa
2011 L.H.D. Roth, Kenneth (’77)
2011 Sc.D. Scott, David R.
2011 Litt.D. Zhenkai, Zhao (Bei Dao)
2010 D.F.A. Freeman, Morgan
2010 Sc.D. Liskov, Barbara
2010 LL.D. Mandela, Nelson (in absentia; accepted by Johnny Moloto)
2010 Litt.D. Parsipur, Shahrnush
2010 L.H.D. Richards, Cecile (’80)
2010 Litt.D. Rohde, David S. (’90)
2010 L.H.D. Thapar, Romila
2010 Litt.D. Wood, Gordon S.
2009 L.H.D. Barker, Richard C. (’57)
2009 L.H.D. Elmendorf, Mary L.
2009 Sc.D. Fishman, Jerald G.
2009 L.H.D. Gruman, Jessie C.
2009 D.M.S Kim, Jim Yong
2009 L.H.D. Saltzman, David E.
2009 LL.D. Zakaria, Fareed
2009 Sc.D. Dothan, Trude (off cycle; in Jerusalem)
2008 Litt.D. Danticat, Edwidge (’93)
2008 D.F.A. Jamison, Judith
2008 L.H.D. Mallow, Matthew J. (’64)
2008 D.F.A. Redford, Charles Robert
2008 Sc.D. Shih, Choon Fong
2008 L.H.D. Strothman, Wendy J. (’72)
2008 Sc.D. Zuber, Maria T. (’86)
2008 LL.D. Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson (off cycle; lecture)
2007 D.M.S. Aronson, Stanley M.
2007 L.H.D. Berman, Christopher J. (’77)
2007 D.F.A. Burton, Kate (’79)
2007 LL.D. Cowen, Scott S.
2007 LL.D. Francis, Norman C.
2007 LL.D. Hughes, Marvalene
2007 Mus.D. King, Riley "B.B."
2007 Sc.D. Mello, Craig C. (’82)
2007 L.H.D. Power, Samantha
2006 L.H.D. Canada, Geoffrey
2006 L.H.D. Garcia, Juliet V.
2006 D.M.S. Jamison, Kay Redfield
2006 D.F.A. St.Florian, Friedrich
2006 D.M.S. Solomon, Suniti
2006 L.H.D. Volcker, Paul A.
2006 L.H.D. Granoff, Martin J.
2006 L.L.D. Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi
2006 Sc.D. Hockfield, Susan (off cycle; Sidney Frank Hall dedication)
2005 D.F.A. Christo
2005 D.F.A. Jeanne-Claude
2005 Litt.D. Eggers, David
2005 L.H.D. Frank, Sidney E. (’42)
2005 Sc.D. Huntress Jr., Wesley T.
2005 D.M.S. King, Mary-Claire
2005 D.F.A. Rashad, Phylicia
2005 L.H.D. Rhodes, William R. (’57)
2005 L.H.D. Samar, Sima
2005 D.D. Smith, Philip A.
2004 LL.D. Cardoso, Fernando Henrique
2004 L.H.D. Chace, Malcolm G.
2004 LL.D. Ebadi, Shirin
2004 D.M.S. Farmer, Paul
2004 Litt.D. Parks, Suzan-Lori
2004 L.H.D. Pauley, Jane
2004 L.H.D. Robert, Stephen (’62)
2004 LL.D. Rodin, Judith
2004 Litt.D. Trudeau, Garry B.
2003 LL.D Gorbachev, Mikhail (off cycle; Ogden Lecture)
2003 D.F.A. Linney, Laura
2003 D.F.A. Mandle, Roger
2003 LL.D. Nunn, Samuel
2003 D.F.A. Sims, Lowery Stokes
2003 Sc.D. Steitz, Joan Argetsinger
2003 LL.D. Urquhart, Sir Brian
2003 L.H.D. Wenli, Xu
2002 LL.D. Birkelund, John P.
2002 L.H.D. Chambers, Raymond G.
2002 LL.D Ginsburg, Ruth Bader
2002 L.H.D. LeClerc, Paul
2002 Litt.D. McCully, Emily Arnold
2002 Mus.D. Norman, Jessye
2002 L.H.D. Ogata, Sadako
2002 D.F.A. Warner, William D.
2001 LL.D. Albright, Madeleine Korbel
2001 LL.D. Annan, Kofi A.
2001 Sc.D. Blumstein, Sheila E.
2001 Sc.D. Christodoulou, Demetrios
2001 D.F.A. Eustis, Paul Jefferson (Oskar)
2001 LL.D. Marshall, Margaret H.
2001 Sc.D. Riggs, Lorrin Andrews
2001 Litt.D. Roth, Philip
2001 L.H.D. Small, Lawrence
2000 D.D. Gutierrez, Gustavo
2000 D.F.A. Evans, Barnaby
2000 D.F.A. Marden, Brice
2000 D.M.S. Collins, Francis S.
2000 D.M.S. Sullivan, Louis W.
2000 L.H.D. Child, Julia
2000 L.H.D. Shalvi, Alice
2000 Litt.D. McCullough, David
2000 Mus.D. DeLay, Dorothy
2000 Sc.D. Brown, John Seely