Honorary Degrees

Congratulations to the class of May 2018! As commencement draws closer, I want to pause to consider the part of the ceremony frequently overlooked by excited graduates and their parents - the conferring of honorary degrees.

As a guest speaker draws to a close, the anticipation is palpable. But before the unending line of graduates can snake up the walkway to receive their degrees, the President must first honor the speaker or distinguished guests with an honorary degree.

What is an honorary degree? Most commonly, it is a doctorate degree awarded to someone who, although he or she has not completed the requisite coursework and assignments, has sufficient field experience to rival a formal education. The degree may also be awarded to someone who commands significant respect within the university community, such as emeritus faculty. The degree is typically referred to as a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

Here at Delaware State University, we have awarded honorary degrees to individuals from all walks of life. They include political dignitaries such as former Vice President Joe Biden, Benjamin Carson, or John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, the President of the Republic of Ghana. Our past honorees also include cultural titans such as Queen Latifah and Bill Cosby. Check out the list of known recipients below.

The 1985 speaker, Mayor Marion Barry, Jr., arrives by
helicopter from Washington D.C., May 19, 1985

1961: Martin Jenkins
1962: Sterling McMurrin
1963: Thomas Carroll; Walter Aiken
1964: Elbert Carvel; Julius Thomas; Logan Wilson
1965: Leland Hayward; James Nabrit
1966 Robert Weaver
1967 Stuart Udall; Bishop John D. Bright; Reverend Henry Herndon; Dr. Maurice Thomasson, Acting president of DSC
1968: Jack Robinson; William Ryan; Leon Sullivan; Asa Randolph; John McDowell
1969: Herman M. Holloway; Ercell Watson

Mayor Marion Barry, Jr. and entourage

1970: Harriet Williams; King Cheek; Harold Keller; James Baker; Jerome Holland, President of DSC
1971: John W. Lord; William McElroy; Norman Wilder
1972: Sister Mary Elise; James Cheek
1973: Barbara Jordan; Beatrice Henry
1974: Earl Jackson; Barbara Sizemore
1975: Maynard Jackson; Daniel James
1976: Carl Rowan
1977: Pierre DuPont; Walton Simpson; Paul Weatherly
1978: Julian Bond; W.R. Wynder, DSC faculty; William G. Dix, DSC staff
1979: Parren J. Mitchell; James C. Hardcastle, DSC Trustee
1980: Mary Frances Berry
1981: Nicholas H. Rodriguez; Ulysses S. Washington, Jr., DSC Faculty
1982: Walter Faunteroy

1983: Samuel R. Pierece, Jr.
1984: Terrel H. Bell; Crawford J. Carroll; John Robert Price (Posthumous), DSC faculty
1985: Marion Barry, Jr.; James Hazell Williams
1986: Michael N. Castle, Governor of Delaware; Louis L. Redding; Al O. Plant, Jr.
1987: Dr. Luna I. Mishoe; William Granville; Cora N. Selby, DSC Trustee
1988: John Lewis
1989: William H. Gray III, Mr. William H. Davis
1990: Juanita Kidd Stout, PA supreme court; Arthur E. Bragg, DSC Professor Emeritus
1991: A. Richard Barros, DE attorney
1992: Endsley P. Fairman, DE philanthropist
1994: Thomas Richard Carper, DE Governor
1995: Susan Taylor
1996: Benjamin S. Carson, M.d.
1997: Charles M. Cawley, MBNA America Bank
1998: Nikki Giovanni, poet; Dr. Billy Taylor, jazz historian; Edward Loper Sr., artist
1999: Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr., J.D.
2000: Dr. Bertice Berry
2001: Dr. William H. Cosby, Sr.; Clifford Benjamin Brown (Posthumous)
2002: Dr. Dorothy Irene Height
2003: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. US Senator
2005: James H. Gilliam Sr., President of Wilmington Housing Inc.
2006: Nathan Hayward III, DelDOT
2008: Clark Kent Ervin, J.D., Homeland Security
2011: Jeff Johnson, investigative journalist
2012: Warren Brown, CakeLove founder
2015: Ann Rosenberg, Global SAP University Alliances; John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana
2016: Denise Young Smith, Worldwide Human Resources for Apple; Jack Markell, DE Governor; Johnny C. Taylor Jr., Thurgood Marshall College Fund
2017: Lisa Blunt, US House of Representatives; Steve Ewig, Executive Officer of Wade Ford Dealership
2018: James McBride, writer