Honorary Degrees

Williams has conferred honorary degrees since 1795. All members of the college community are encouraged to make nominations, from which each year the Honorary Degrees Advisory Committee recommends to the full Board of Trustees a group of potential recipients who have excelled in diverse fields and stand as inspiring examples for our graduating students. Each year one recipient delivers the Commencement address, and one delivers the Baccalaureate address.

We invite your nominations for honorary degree recipients.

First name Last name Degree Year
Sally Shaywitz DSC 2005
Nancy Hatch Dupree LHD 2004
Shirin Ebadi LLD 2004
Allan W. Fulkerson LLD 2004
Ellen V. Futter LHD 2004
Peter J. Gomes DD 2004
David Halberstam LITTD 2004
Anthony W. Marx LHD 2004
Michael Beschloss LHD 2003
James M. Burns LHD 2003
Gwen Ifill LHD 2003
Eric Lander DSC 2003
Thaddeus Lott LHD 2003
Monica Lozano LHD 2003
Paul A. Volcker LLD 2003
Norman Bourlaug, Ph.D. DSC 2002
Morris Dees LLD 2002
Frank Gehry LHD 2002
Raymond F. Henze III LLD 2002
Antonia Hernandez LLD 2002
Robert Moses LHD 2002
Anna Jacobson Schwartz LLD 2002
William G. Bowen LHD 2001
William H. Gray III LLD 2001
William H. Pierson, Jr. LHD 2001
Robert E. Rubin LLD 2001
Nancy Spero DFA 2001
Whitney S. Stoddard LHD 2001
James N. Wood DFA 2001
Jocelyn Bell-Burnell DSC 2000
Thomas R. Cech DSC 2000
Rita Colwell DSC 2000
Jenny Holzer DFA 2000
Anna Faith Jones LHD 2000
Daniel Kleppner DSC 2000
Donald E. Knuth DSC 2000
Mathilde Krim DSC 2000
George A. Miller DSC 2000
George J. Mitchell LLD 2000
William B.F. Ryan DSC 2000
Morton Owen Schapiro LLD 2000
Edward R. Tufte DSC 2000
Carl W. Vogt LLD 2000
Paul Auster LITTD 1999
Shirley A. Jackson DSC 1999
Thomas Krens DFA 1999
Mrs. Stephen A. Lieber LHD 1999
Stephen A. Lieber LHD 1999
Curtis Tracy McMullen DSC 1999
Christopher Reeve LHD 1999