DILLARD UNIVERSITY
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana 70122
504.283.8822
Commencement
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Honorees
Dillard University celebrates those who have made an impact on communities either through courage, leadership, creativity, scholarship or overall efforts to improve people's quality of life. Since 1975, the University has honored individuals by awarding Doctors of Humane Letters, Doctors of Laws and Doctors of Divinity degrees. Dillard has also honored community leaders with Medals of Honor, a Doctor of Music, a Doctor of Literature and a Doctor of Science.
Past Commencement Honorees
| 1975 | |
| Benjamin E. Mays |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1977 | |
| Albert W. Dent | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Vernon E. Jordan Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
| 1978 | |
| Coretta Scott King | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Samuel D. Proctor | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| David Spitz | Doctor of Laws |
| 1979 | |
| Robert Frederick Collins '51 | Doctor of Laws |
| John Hope Franklin | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Howard Thurman | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1980 | |
| Lerone Bennett Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
| Rosa Freeman Keller | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Martin Luther King Sr. | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1981 | |
| William Talbot Handy Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
| Benjamin L. Hooks | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1982 | |
| Terry Sanford | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1983 | |
| Joseph N.W. Gayles Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
| Mitchel W. Spelman | Doctor of Laws |
| 1985 | |
| Charles G. Adams | Doctor of Laws |
| Shirley A. Chilsholm | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1986 | |
| Jerry H. Coleman | Doctor of Laws |
| Joseph E. Lowery | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| John L. Wilson | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1987 | |
| George H.W. Bush | Medal of Honor |
| 1988 | |
| Robert E. Johnson | Doctor of Literature |
| Lou Rawls | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1989 | |
| John Hurst Adams | Doctor of Laws |
| Marian Wright Edelman | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Ellis L. Marsalis Jr. '55 | Doctor of Music |
| 1990 |
|
| Rhetaugh G. Dumas | Doctor of Laws |
| Gardner C. Taylor | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1991 |
|
| Joyce M. Roché '70 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| William Wallace Sutton Sr. '53 | Doctor of Laws |
| 1992 |
|
| Leontine T.C. Kelly | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Eugene C. Patterson | Doctor of Laws |
| 1993 |
|
| Millie McClelland Charles '43 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. | Doctor of Laws |
| 1994 |
|
| Calvin O. Butt, III | Doctor of Divinity |
| Roger W. Ireson | Doctor of Laws |
| 1995 |
|
| Wiley A. Perdue | Doctor of Laws |
| Louis Westerfield | Doctor of Laws |
| 1996 |
|
| Ruth J. Simmons '67 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1997 |
|
| Nanneri O. Keohane | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1998 |
|
| Ernest Gaines | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Samella Lewis | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Gordon Parks | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1999 |
|
| Julian Bond | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Taylor Branch | Doctor of Laws |
| John Lewis | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Abbey Lincoln | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2000 |
|
| Samuel DuBois Cook | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Anita F. Hill | Doctor of Laws |
| 2001 |
|
| Susan L. Taylor | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Cicely Tyson | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Eddie N. Williams | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Ichiro Yamauchi | Doctor of Divinity |
| 2002 |
|
| Harry Belafonte | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Earl G. Graves | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Cynthia Tucker | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2003 |
|
| Ray Charles | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Charlayne Hunter-Gault | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| David Satcher | Doctor of Science |
| 2004 |
|
| Shirley Franklin | Doctor of Laws |
| Barbara Guillory-Thompson | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Shelton Lee | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2005 |
|
| Barbara Chase-Riboud | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Lawrence Otis Graham | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Sokoni Karanja | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Ngugiwa Thiong'o | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2006 |
|
| Mary Frances Berry | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| William H. Cosby Jr. | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Revius O. Ortique Jr. '47 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2007 |
|
| Hillary Rodham Clinton | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Roberta Flack | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Frank Mason '71 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2008 |
|
| Harold Battiste Jr. '52 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Leah Chase | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Maxine Waters | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2009 |
|
| Michael Eric Dyson | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Doris Roche Hicks | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2010 |
|
| Jihan Liu | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2011 |
|
| Irvin M. Mayfield | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Soledad O'Brien | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2012 |
|
| Hill Harper | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2013 |
|
| Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre '76 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Pearlie H. Elloie | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Jeffrey Johnson | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2014 |
|
| Henry C. Lacey | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Mary Landrieu | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Michelle Obama | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Sheila Dinoshe Tlou '74 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Andrew Wisdom | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2015 |
|
| Victoria H. Barbosa | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| David J. Dennis Sr. | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Alden J. McDonald Jr. | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Joyce M. Roché '70, L.H.D. '91 | Presidential Medal |
| Denzel Washington | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2016 |
|
| Valerie Ervin | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Garrett Morris '58 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2017 |
|
| Lolis Edward Elie '56 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Janelle Monáe | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Dorothy Jacques Perrault '60 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2018 |
|
| Chancelor Johnathan Bennett | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Clairborne D. Haughton Jr. '67 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2019 | |
| Broadus N. Butler | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Ruth C. Carter '82 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Regina Hall | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Marvalene Hughes | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Thomas Joyner Sr. | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Pres Kabacoff | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Michael Lomax | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 2021 | |
| Michael Ealy | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Frank Mason '71, L.H.D. '07 |
Presidential Medal |
| 2022 | |
| Preston Edwards Sr. '65 | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| Kern Reese | Doctor of Humane Letters |
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