List of Florida State University honorary degree recipients

This list of Florida State University honorary degree recipients includes notable persons who have been recognized by Florida State University for outstanding achievements in their fields that reflect the ideals and uphold the purposes of the university, and to whom the university faculty has voted to award honorary degrees in recognition of such attainments. Often, but not always, the honorary degree recipients have been alumni of the university, or have had ties to either the university or the state of Florida.

Florida State University awarded its first honorary degree in 1912 to Rowena Longmire, founder and president of the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) Alumni Association. The first man to whom the university awarded an honorary degree was French diplomat and ambassador to the United States Henri Bonnet in 1950.

Policy According to the Faculty Handbook, the goal of honorary degrees is to honor persons of outstanding achievement who have gained national and/or international recognition and made a significant contribution to the United States, Florida or Florida State University through scholarly, creative, public, business, or humane endeavors. Consideration of current FSU employees or board members is only given under exceptional circumstances.

Anyone connected to the university may nominate an individual to the committee, but the nominations must be accompanied by supportive documentation including: a resume, Curriculum vitae or biographical sketch; an explanation as to why an award should be given; and names and addresses of three distinguished persons willing and able to provide an objective evaluation of the nomination. Letters of recommendation from three distinguished persons may be submitted instead of the explanation and names & addresses.

Committee The University Honorary Degree Committee members and a chair are appointed by the university president to represent the educational community. As an advisory committee, they review each candidate's information and the committee votes up or down. A majority of committee members must be present. If the committee approves, the candidate becomes a nomination and is submitted to the president. If not approved, the candidate's information is removed from consideration. The president selects the recipients from a group of nominees for an honorary degree. Nominees not selected the first year are resubmitted the following year along with new nominations. If the nomination is not selected the second year, the nomination is removed from consideration and must be resubmitted to the committee.

Honorary degree recipients

Recipient Year/degree Notability Rowena Longmire 1912 M.A. Education Ruth Bryan Owen Rhode 1935 LL.D. Public Service Henri Bonnet 1950 D.H.L. International affairs Mark Frederick Boyd 1950 D.Sc. Medicine Wouter Bleeker 1952 D.Sc. Science William Morrison Robinson, Jr. 1955 D.H. History Millard Fillmore Caldwell 1956 LL.D. Public Service LeRoy Collins 1956 LL.D. Public Service William George Dodd 1956 D.Litt. Education Spessard Lindsey Holland 1956 LL.D. Public Service Philip Wylie 1956 D.Litt. Literature Doak Sheridan Campbell 1957 LL.D. Education Ernst von Dohnanyi 1957 Mus.D. Music George A. Smathers 1957 LL.D. Public Service J. Velma Keen 1959 LL.D. Business Cyril O. Houle 1960 LL.D. Education Glenn T. Seaborg 1961 D.Sc. Science Vivian Ahlsweh Williams 1961 D.Litt. Literature Leonard J. Brass 1962 D.Sc. Science Thomas B. Swann 1962 LL.D. Business/Public Service Pablo Casals 1963 Mus.D. Music Luther H. Hodges 1963 LL.D. Business/Public Service Karl Zerbe 1963 D.F.A. Art Cecil Farris Bryant 1964 LL.D. Public Service Edwin A. Menninger 1964 D.Sc. Science Dorothy Barclay Thompson 1964 D.H.L. Journalism Arthur Statan Adams 1965 LL.D. Science/Public Service/Education J. J. Daniel 1965 LL.D. Law/Business Robert J. Van de Graaff 1965 D.Sc. Science Michael E. DeBakey 1968 D.Sc. Medicine Lamar Dodd 1968 D.F.A. Art/Education Robert L. Shaw 1968 Mus.D. Music Lucius D. Battle 1969 D.H.L. Public Service Andres Segovia 1969 Mus.D. Music Alan S. Boyd 1970 LL.D. Public Service Audrey Wood Liebling 1970 D.H.L. Literature Gregor Piatigorsky 1970 Mus.D. Music Nelson Poynter 1970 D.H.L. Public Service Paul M. Rudolph 1971 D.F.A. Architecture Ed V. Komarek 1971 D.Sc. Science Wilbur J. Cohen 1972 D.H. Education John Mackay Shaw 1972 D.H. Poetry Karl Dietrich Bracher 1973 D.H.L. History William D. McElroy 1973 D.Sc. Science Allen Morris 1973 D.H.L. Public Service Julia V. Morton 1973 D.Sc. Science Philip Handler 1975 D.Sc. Humanities Helen Hayes MacArthur 1975 D.H.L. Theatre King Hussein I 1975 D.H.L. Public Service Chester H. Ferguson 1976 D.H.L. Education/Public Service Stephen C. O'Connell 1976 D.H.L. Education/Law Mae Knight Clark 1977 D.H.L. Education Lee Strasberg 1977 D.F.A. Theatre Herbert Spencer Zim 1977 D.Sc. Science/Education Lillian Gordy Carter 1978 D.H.L. Public Service Michael Butler Yeats 1978 LL.D. International Affairs William H. Werkmeister 1978 D.H.L. Philosophy Rev. Charles K. Steele, Sr. 1979 D.H.L. Public Service William Styron 1979 D.Litt. Literature B. K. Roberts 1980 D.H.L. Public Service/Law Burt Reynolds 1981 D.H.L. Theatre Roger L. Stevens 1982 D.H.L. Theatre Ricardo de la Espriella 1983 LL.D. Public Service Beth Walton Moor 1983 D.H.L. Public Service William C. Norris 1983 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Rafael Caldera 1984 D.H.L. Public Service/Education John P. McGovern 1984 D.Sc. Medicine Claude Pepper 1985 D.H.L. Public Service Don Fuqua 1986 D.Sc. Public Service/Science Daisy Parker Flory 1986 D.H.L. Public Service Joseph Papp 1986 D.H.L. Theatre Reubin Askew 1988 D.H.L. Public Service Toshiaki Ogasawara 1988 D.H.L. Public Service George Langford 1989 D.H.L. Business/Public Service G. William Miller 1989 D.H.L. Finance/Public Service D. Burke Kibler 1990 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Gunther Schuller 1991 Mus.D. Music Gus A. Stavros 1991 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Robert Edward Turner, III 1991 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Marguerite Neel Williams 1991 D.H.L. Modern Languages Ada Belle Winthrop-King 1991 D.H.L. Theatre Louise Ireland Humphrey 1992 D.H.L. Public Service Oscar Arias Sanchez 1992 D.H.L. Public Service Walter Lanier "Red" Barber 1993 D.H.L. Public Broadcasting D. Allan Bromley 1993 D.Sc. Public Service Betty Mae Jumper 1994 D.H.L. Public Service Simon Ostrach 1994 D.E.Sc. Space Science/Engineering Rosa L. Parks 1994 D.H.L. Civil Rights C. DuBose Ausley 1995 D.H.L. Public Service William R. Mote 1996 D.Sc. Marine Science Sir James Lighthill 1996 D.Sc. Mathematics Russell V. Ewald 1997 D.H.L. Public Service Louis J. Hector 1997 D.H.L. Public Service Ben Weider 1997 D.H.L. Public Service James M. Moran 1997 D.H.L. Business Richard W. Ervin 1997 LL.D. Public Service Charles B. Reed 1997 D.H.L. Education Rod M. Brim, Sr 1998 D.H.L. Business John Paul Stevens 1998 LL.D. U.S. Supreme Court Godfrey Smith 1998 D.H.L. Business Mart Pierson Hill 1999 D.H.L. Public Service Carl A. DeSantis 1999 D.H.L. Business Thomas F. Petway, III 1999 D.H.L. Business James C. Smith 2000 D.H.L. Public Service Ann Reinking 2001 D.F.A. Dance/Theatre/Film Reid B. Hughes 2001 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Charlotte Edwards Maguire 2002 D.H.L. Medicine/Public Service Herbert F. Morgan 2003 D.H.L. Public Service DeVoe L. Moore 2005 D.H.L. Business/Public Service Carlisle Floyd 2005 D.H.L. Music/Opera Jim Shore 2005 LL.D. Business/Public Service Tom Brokaw 2006 D.H.L. Broadcasting & Journalism Mary Lou Norwood 2007 D.H.L. Public Service Albert J. Dunlap 2007 D.H.L. Business Mark S. Wrighton 2007 D.H.L. Chemistry Kitty B. Hoffman 2007 D.Sc. Chemistry Edward W. Rabin 2007 M.B.A. Business Ernest Cook 2008 D.H.L. Medicine Charles A. Smith 2008 M.B.A. Business Paul Kagame 2009 LL.D. Public Service Lee Corso 2012 D.H.L. Media and Communication Edward O. Wilson 2012 D.H.L. Evolutionary Biology Judith A. Dunlap 2012 D.H.L. Philanthropy Tommie Wright 2012 Mus.D. Music Margaret "Maggie" Allesee 2013 D.H.L. Choreography Robert "Bobby" Bowden 2014 D.H.L. Athletics/Public Service Louise Jones Gopher 2014 D.H.L. Public Service Lucy Ho 2015 D.H.L. Public Service Christopher Still 2016 D.H.L. Art Grace Dansby 2016 D.H.L. Philanthropy/Public Service Allan G. Bense 2019 D.H.L. Business/Public Service William T. Hold 2021 D.H.L. Business/Insurance

Key to degree abbreviations Honorary degrees D.C.L. – Doctor of Civil Law D.D. – Doctor of Divinity D.E.Sc. – Doctor of Engineering Science D.F.A. – Doctor of Fine Arts D.H.L. – Doctor of Humane Letters D.Litt. – Doctor of Letters or Literature D.P.A. – Doctor of Public Administration D.P.S. – Doctor of Public Service D.Sc. – Doctor of Science D.H. – Doctor of Humanities LL.D. – Doctor of Laws Mus.D. – Doctor of Music

Earned degrees B.A. – Bachelor of Arts B.S. – Bachelor of Science J.D. – Juris Doctor (professional law degree; replaced LL.B.) LL.B. – Bachelor of Laws (former law degree; superseded by J.D.) M.A. – Master of Arts M.B.A. – Master of Business Administration M.S. – Master of Science Ph.D. – Doctor of Philosophy (terminal graduate research degree in most disciplines)

List of Florida State University honorary degree recipients

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