Catalogue

Honorary Degrees

In 1865 the Rev. Thomas A. Pynchon received the first honorary degree conferred by St. Stephen’s College, as Bard was then known. From that time until 1944, when Bard severed its relation­ship with Columbia University and became an independent liberal arts college, it awarded more than 150 honorary degrees. Following is a list of individuals who have received honorary degrees conferred from Bard since the mid-1940s.

*Commencement Speaker
 

Doctor of Civil Law

• Martin Luther King Jr., 1962
• *John Lewis, 2017
• Paul Moore Jr., 2003
• David E. Schwab II ’52, 2004

Doctor of Divinity

• Most Rev. John Maury Allin, 1985
• Rev. Bernard Iddings Bell (posthumously), 1962
• Rev. James E. Clarke ’25, 1965
• Rev. Vine Victor Deloria ’26, 1954
• Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, 2015
• Rt. Rev. Horace W. B. Donegan ’25, 1957
• Rt. Rev. Herbert A. Donovan Jr., 2019
• Rev. Lyford P. Edwards, 1947
• Rev. John Heuss ’29, 1953
• Rev. Canon Clinton Robert Jones ’38, 1966
• Rev. Gordon Lee Kidd ’21, 1986
• Rt. Rev. Arthur C. Lichtenberger, D.D., 1960
• Rt. Rev. Charles W. MacLean ’25, 1962
• Rev. Chester E. McCahan, 1951
• Father Joseph McShane SJ, 2022
• Rev. John M. Mulligan ’32, 1968
• Rev. Joseph Parsell ’26, 1988
• Rev. James A. Paul ’32, 1955
• Rev. Frederick Q. Shafer ’37, 1989
• Rev. Elwyn H. Spear ’11, 1952

Doctor of Fine Arts

• Alvin Ailey, 1977
• Laurie Anderson, 2020
• Arthur Aviles ‘87, 2015
• Harry Belafonte, 1993
• Miriam Roskin Berger ’56, 2021
• Malcolm Bilson ’57, 1991
• Anne D. Bogart ’74, 2014
• Ilya Bolotowsky, 1981
• Louise Bourgeois, 1981
• Stan Brakhage, 2000
• *Robert Brustein, 1981
• *David Byrne, 2020
• Elliott Carter, 1987
• *Chevy Chase ’68, 1990
• Chuck Close, 1999
• Ornette Coleman, 1999
• Merce Cunningham, 2008
• Blythe Danner ’65, 1981
• Carl Davis ’58, 2018
• Emerson String Quartet, 2009
• Jean Erdman, 1992
• Donald Fagen ’69, 1985
• Rudolf Firkusny, 1993
• Lukas Foss, 2006
• Helen Frankenthaler, 1976
• Lee Friedlander, 2001
• Frank O. Gehry, 2002
• Benny Goodman, 1986
• John Guare, 2001
• Helen Hayes, 1978
• John Heliker, 1991
• Steven Holl, 2019
• James Ivory, 1996
• Judith Jamison, 1995
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, 1996
• Bill T. Jones, 1996
• Louis I. Kahn, 1970
• Ellsworth Kelly, 1996
• André Kertész, 1981
• Tony Kushner, 2004
• Roy Lichtenstein, 1989
• Glenn Ligon, 2018
• Maya Lin, 2000
• Sidney Lumet, 1987
• *Yo-Yo Ma, 1994
• Brice Marden, 2017
• Wynton Marsalis, 1998
• Audra McDonald, 2021
• Ismail Merchant, 1996
• Meredith Monk, 1988
• Mark Morris, 2006
• Lynn Nottage, 2012
• Claes Oldenburg, 1995
• Yoko Ono, 2003
• Nam June Paik, 1990
• Zeena Parkins ’79, 2022
• Donald Richie, 2004
• Marcus Roberts, 2022
• Sonny Rollins, 1992
• James Rosenquist, 1997
• Carolee Schneemann ’59 (posthumously), 2019
• Martin Scorsese, 1992
• Richard M. Sherman ’49, 2011
• Robert B. Sherman ’49, 2011
• Aaron Siskind, 1981
• Anna Deavere Smith, 2023
• Kiki Smith, 2015
• Billy Steinberg ‘72, 2018
• Carol Summers ’52, 1974
• Louise Talma, 1984
• Billy Taylor, 2000
• Twyla Tharp, 1981
• Virgil Thomson, 1982
• Jennifer Tipton, 2011
• Jonathan Tunick ’58, 2013
• Robert Venturi, 1993
• Gao Xiaosong, 2020

Doctor of Humane Letters

• José Antonio Abreu, 2014
• V. Kofi Agawu, 2019
• George A. Akerlof, 2003
• Anthony J. Alvarado, 1999
• Kwame Anthony Appiah, 2004
• Hannah Arendt, 1959
• Alaa Al Aswany, 2022
• Alfred J. Ayer, 1983
• *Bernard Bailyn, 1968
• George Ball ’73, 2023
• Salo W. Baron, 1979
• William J. Baumol, 2005
• James Phinney Baxter, 1960
• Mary Beard, 2017
• Caitlin Bernard, 2023
• Robert L. Bernstein, 1998
• Bruno Bettelheim, 1987
• Jonathan Bingham, 1958
• Alan S. Blinder, 2010
• *Michael R. Bloomberg, 2007
• Heinrich Bluecher, 1968
• Dorothy Dulles Bourne, 1967
• Burrett B. Bouton ’24, 1964
• Kenneth Burns, 1998
• Geoffrey Canada, 2009
• *LaToya Cantrell, 2019
• John Carlos, 2023
• Pablo Casals, 1958
• James H. Case Jr., 1960
• Noam Chomsky, 1971
• Sandra Cisneros, 2023
• *Robert M. Coles, 1976
• *Barry Commoner, 1980
• Gardner Cowles, 1950
• William A. Darity Jr., 2021
• Arnold J. Davis ’44, 1995
• Gordon J. Davis, 2001
• Natalie Zemon Davis, 2002
• Philip J. Deloria, 2019
• Anne d’Harnoncourt, 1990
• Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr., 1968
• Harry L. Dillin ’28, 1964
• Wendy Doniger, 1996
• Frances D. Fergusson, 2006
• Barbara J. Fields, 2007
• Hamilton Fish Jr., 1994
• Nancy Folbre, 2006
• Norman C. Francis, 2010
• Phillip Frank, 1953
• John Hope Franklin, 1969
• William Frauenfelder, 1957
• Ellen V. Futter, 1999
• *Patrick Gaspard, 2021
• *Henry Louis Gates Jr., 1995
• Adrienne Germain, 2001
• *Gabrielle Giffords, 2013
• Thelma Golden, 2020
• Anthony Grafton, 2015
• Martha Graham, 1952
• Edward S. Grandin III ’37, 1997
• Andrew M. Greeley, 2002
• Brandon H. Grove Jr. ’50, 2010
• *Lani Guinier, 2003
• *Deb Haaland, 2022
• Elizabeth Blodgett Hall, 1986
• Michael Harrington, 1966
• Alexander Heard, 1979
• *Fred M. Hechinger, 1956
• James J. Heckman, 2004
• Ernest F. Henderson III, 1976
• Catharine B. Hill, 2018
• Stefan Hirsch, 1961
• Oveta Culp Hobby, 1950
• Eric J. Hobsbawm, 1986
• Harold Holzer, 2009
• John C. Honey ’39, 1992
• Henry G. Jarecki, 2010
• Randall Jarrell, 1961
• Martin E. Jay, 2018
• Cindy R. Jebb, 2017
• *Wei Jingsheng, 1998
• Linda E. Johnson, 2020
• William Chester Jordan, 2016
• William H. Jordy ’39, 1968
• Robin D. G. Kelley, 2023
• C. Flint Kellogg ’31, 1960
• *Randall Kennedy, 2016
• Lawrence R. Klein, 1986
• Reamer Kline, President Emeritus, 1974
• Howard E. Koch ’22, 1972
• *Louis W. Koenig ’38, 1960
• Jerome Kohn, 2022
• *Leszek Kolakowski, 1983
• Hilton Kramer, 1981
• Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, 1977
• Aung San Suu Kyi, 2002
• Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, 2020
• David S. Landes, 1999
• Eugene M. Lang, 1991
• Rev. Leslie J. A. Lang ’30, 1978
• *Roy E. Larsen, 1951
• *Christopher Lasch, 1977
• Mary Woodard Lasker, 1950
• Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, 1993
• Geraldine Laybourne, 2016
• Eva Le Gallienne, 1967
• Harold Lever, 1989
• Harold O. Levy, 2002
• Leon Levy (posthumously), 2003
• David Levering Lewis, 2002
• Harvey Lichtenstein, 1999
• Eric S. Maskin, 2008
• Mary McCarthy, 1976
• *William James McGill, 1975
• *William H. McNeill, 1984
• Desmond Meade, 2023
• Deborah W. Meier, 1997
• Leonard B. Meyer ’40, 1976
• William E. Milliken, 2007
• Franco Modigliani, 1985
• Arnaldo Momigliano, 1983
• Philippe de Montebello, 1981
• Ian Morrison, 1968
• Robert Motherwell, 1973
• Eric Motley, 2022
• Daniel Patrick Moynihan, 1985
• *Ernest Nagel, 1964
• Aryeh Neier, 2012
• Jacob Neusner, 2014
• Carroll V. Newsom, 1955
• Rev. Vivian D. Nixon, 2021
• Jacqueline Novogratz, 2014
• *Martha C. Nussbaum, 1999
• Sari Nusseibeh, 2011
• Erwin Panofsky, 1956
• *Gail Thain Parker, 1974
• Martin Peretz, 1982
• Hart Perry, 1986
• John Harold Plumb, 1988
• Richard Pousette-Dart ’39, 1965
• John Herman Randall Jr., 1972
• Santha Rama Rau, 1954
• Diane Ravitch, 2014
• *Robert Redford, 2004
• Lynda Resnick, 2012
• Wallingford Riegger (posthumously), 1961
• David Rose, 1980
• Henry Rosovsky, 2014
• William F. Rueger ’40, 1984
• *Salman Rushdie, 1996
• Jeffrey D. Sachs, 2009
• Simon Schama, 2003
• Meyer Schapiro, 1988
• Orville Schell, 2023
• Carl Emil Schorske, 1982
• Henry L. Scott, 1964
• *Amartya Sen, 1997
• Maurice Sendak, 1987
• Aura E. Severinghaus, 1955
• Elif Shafak, 2021
• Sidney Shelov ’37, 1987
• Ruth J. Simmons, 2005
• *Megan J. Smith, 2018
• Theodore H. Smythe ’37, 1973
• Albert Spalding, 1951
• Edward John Steichen, 1966
• John H. Steinway ’39, 1989
• Charles P. Stevenson Jr., 2017
• Ellen Stewart, 1975
• Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2001
• Margot Stern Strom, 2001
• Adolf Sturmthal, 1985
• Deborah Sussman ’52, 1998
• Donald Tewskbury, 1954
• James Tobin, 1995
• Nina Totenberg, 2011
• Ludmila A. Verbitskaya, 2000
• Emily Townsend Vermeule, 1994
• Dennis M. Walcott, 2013
• Darren Walker, 2014
• *Paul Langdon Ward, 1963
• *Raphael Warnock, 2023
• Alice Waters, 2013
• Thomas J. Watson Jr., 1985
• *Faye Wattleton, 1991
• Bethuel M. Webster, 1980
• *Richard D. Weigle, 1970
• Barbara Wersba ’54, 1977
• Stef Wertheimer, 2009
• Paul Whitcomb Williams, 1975
• Roscoe L. Williams, 1969
• Garry Wills, 2009
• *William Julius Wilson, 1992
• Janet L. Yellen, 2000

Doctor of Laws

• *Ernest Angell, 1954
• *Edward Ware Barrett, 1950
• Elliott Vallance Bell, 1950
• William Benton, 1951
• Julian Bond, 1970
• *Cory A. Booker, 2012
• *Chester Bowles, 1957
• William B. Bryant, 1984
• Gerhard Casper, 2007
• *William T. Coleman Jr., 1989
• Howland S. Davis, 1960
• *Paul H. Douglass, 1959
• David Dubinsky, 1951
• Cyrus Eaton, 1958
• *Marian Wright Edelman, 1982
• Christopher Edley Jr., 2011
• Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1964
• Brian S. Fischer, 2013
• James Peter Fusscas ’31, 1974
• Kenneth Galbraith, 1958
• Richard J. Goldstone, 2004
• *Murray I. Gurfein, 1972
• Edgar W. Hatfield ’31, 1956
• A. Leon Higginbotham Jr., 1991
• *Lt. Col. William Roy Hodgson, 1947
• Wayne L. Horvitz, 1979
• *Sherrilyn Ifill, 2015
• Irving M. Ives, 1942
• *Jacob K. Javits, 1966
• Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, 2000
• Judith S. Kaye, 2009
• Joseph Kovago, 1960
• Herbert H. Lehman, 1952
• Edward Hirsch Levi, 1975
• W. Arthur Lewis, 1982
• *Jack W. Lydman ’36, 1973
• Margaret H. Marshall, 2008
• Ward Melville, 1950
• Soia Mentschikoff, 1978
• Eleanor Holmes Norton, 1971
• Lennart K. H. Nylander, 1950
• *David Patterson, 2009
• Hon. Ferdinand Pecora ’99, 1963
• *Nancy Pelosi, 2014
• Hon. Byron Price, 1950
• *Charles B. Rangel, 2008
• *Ogden Rogers Reid, 1969
• *Abraham Ribicoff, 1961
• Felix G. Rohatyn, 1976
• *Eleanor Roosevelt, 1951
• Bobby L. Rush, 2022
• Kurt L. Schmoke, 1994
• Elisabeth A. Semel ’72, 2016
• Theodore H. Silbert, 1972
• Frank Snowden, 1957
• *Bryan A. Stevenson, 2006
• *Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, 1967
• *Marietta Tree, 1965
• Henry Wriston, 1958

Doctor of Letters

• Edward Albee, 1987
• *Margaret Atwood, 2010
• Saul Bellow, 1963
• Irma Brandeis, 1980
• Harold Clurman, 1959
• *Joan Didion, 1987
• Margaret Drabble, 1983
• Frederick Dupee, 1965
• Ralph W. Ellison, 1978
• Max Frisch, 1980
• *Carlos Fuentes, 1988
• *Ernest J. Gaines, 1985
• Elizabeth Hardwick, 1989
• Anthony Hecht ’44, 1970
• Ada Louise Huxtable, 1980
• Jamaica Kincaid, 1997
• Doris Lessing, 1994
• Henry Noble MacCracken, 1955
• Ajai Singh “Sonny” Mehta, 2008
• Ved Mehta, 1982
• *Toni Morrison, 1979
• Azar Nafisi, 2007
• Cynthia Ozick, 1991
• Marjorie Perloff, 2008
• Henri Peyre, 1957
• David Remnick, 2005
• Philip Roth, 1985
• Richard H. Rovere ’37, 1962
• Mary Lee Settle, 1985
• Robert B. Silvers, 2016
• Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1974
• *Charles Percy Snow, 1962
• Wallace Stevens, 1951
• Peter H. Stone ’51, 1971
• *Ordway Tead, 1953
• John Updike, 1984
• *Helen Vendler, 2005
• Theodore Weiss, 1973
• William Carlos Williams, 1950
• Louis Zukofsky, 1977

Doctor of Science

• Alexander Albert ’32, 1961
• David Baltimore, 1990
• Cori Bargmann, 2015
• László Z. Bitó ’60, 2007
• John Joseph Bittner ’25, 1950
• Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, 2004
• Baruch S. Blumberg, 1985
• David Botstein, 2011
• John T. Cacioppo, 2004
• Kenneth Campbell, 1956
• Jennifer Tour Chayes, 2022
• Steven Chu, 2020
• Gregory Chudnovsky, 1981
• Erik D. Demaine, 2017
• Jennifer A. Doudna, 2016
• *René Dubos, 1971
• *Anthony S. Fauci, 1993
• David Gelernter, 2006
• William T. Golden, 1988
• Susan Gottesman, 2009
• *Stephen Jay Gould, 1986
• Margaret Heafield Hamilton, 2019
• Jo Handelsman, 2013
• M. D. Hassialis, 1953
• David D. Ho, 1997
• Kay Redfield Jamison, 2003
• *John G. Kemeny, 1978
• Bostwick K. Ketchum ’34, 1964
• Mary Claire King, 1995
• Jin H. Kinoshita ’44, 1967
• Tsung-Dao Lee, 1984
• *Arnold J. Levine, 2000
• Barbara Liskov, 2023
• Eduardo D. Maldonado ’32, 1972
• Michael E. Mann, 2021
• Barbara McClintock, 1983
• Siddhartha Mukherjee, 2021
• Paul Nurse, 2005
• Mary L. Pardue, 1985
• Gerard Piel, 1979
• Lisa Randall, 2010
• Jens Reich, 2012
• Gardner M. Riley ’31, 1959
• Oliver Sacks, 1992
• Karen Saxe ’82, 2017
• Elie Alexis Schneour ’47, 1969
• C. Theodore Sottery, 1963
• Abraham Spector ’47, 1985
• David Howard Spodick ’47, 1975
• *Shirley M. Tilghman, 2002
• Yasuhisa Toyota, 2004
• *Harold E. Varmus, 2001
• William Vogt ’25, 1952
• James Dewey Watson, 1991
• Frank H. Westheimer, 1983
• Nancy S. Wexler, 1998
• Edward Witten, 1998
• Chien-Shiung Wu, 1974