**During the years where two ceremonies were held, they are marked (w) for winter commencement and (s) for spring commencement.
| 2024 | Norbu Tenzing Norgay '86, Vice President of the American Himalayan Foundation Christine McMahon '94, President and CEO of The Fedcap Group Katie Bouton '96, Founder, Koya Leadership Partners Michael J. Paglia '02G, Chief Operating Officer, ElevateBio Base Camp Roger Stephenson '79, '83G, Northeast Regional Advocacy Director for the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists Ryan Day '02, Head Football Coach for The Ohio State University |
| 2023 | Denise Saltojanes '95, Managing Director at Golden Seeds Alyson McGregor '95, Associate Dea of Clinical Faculty Affairs, Professor of Emergency Medicine at University of South Carolina Jackie MacMullan Boyle '82, Journalist Elle Purrier St. Pierre '18, U.S.A. Track and Field Athlete Tim Collins '85, Founder and CO of EBSCO Information Systems |
| 2022 | Martin Kimani, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary - Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations |
| 2020 & 2021 | Wolf Biltzer, Journalist |
| 2019 | David Brooks, Journalist |
| 2018 | Shawn Gorman ’89, Chairman LL Bean |
| 2017 | General Lori Robinson ’81, Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command |
| 2016 | Richard Haass, President of Council on Foreign Relations |
| 2015 | Ryan M. Pitts ’13, United States Army soldier, ninth living recipient of the Medal of Honor |
| 2014 | Jennifer Lee '92, film director, screenwriter and CEO of Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| 2013 | Mary A. Legere '82, retired Lieutenant General and former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence of the United States Army |
| 2012 | Ronald K. Noble '79, INTERPOL Secretary-General |
| 2011 | David Cote '76, CEO at Honeywell |
| 2010 | Bert Jacobs, Co-founder and Chief Executive Optimist, Life is good Company |
| 2009 | Gary Hirschberg, CE-YO, Stonyfield Farm |
| 2008 | Michael Brown, Co-Founder, City Year |
| 2007 | Pres. George H. W. Bush, Former U.S. President |
| 2007 | Pres. William Jefferson Clinton, Former U.S. President |
| 2006 | Mike O'Malley '88, TV Actor |
| 2005 | Tom Werner, Red Sox Owner, Emmy-Winning Producer |
| 2004 | Mae Jemison, First African-American Female Astronaut |
| 2003 | Meryl Streep, Actress |
| 2002 | Richard Linnehan '80, NASA Astronaut |
| 2001 | Gwenn Ifill, Moderator and Managing Editor, Washington Week in Review |
| 2000 | David R. Gergen, Editor-at-large, U.S. News and World Report, former White House Presidential Advisor |
| 1999 | Vice Pres. Albert Gore, Vice President of the United States |
| 1998 | George J. Mitchell, Former U.S. Senator of Maine |
| 1997 | Prof. Robert B. Reich, University Prof. and Maurice B. Hexter Prof. of Social and Economic Policy at Brandeis University and its Heller Graduate School, former U.S. Secretary of Labor |
| 1996 | Pres. Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and Pres., Children’s Defense Fund |
| 1995 | Pres. Arthur E. Levine, Teacher’s College, Columbia University |
| 1994 | John Lewis, United States Congressman of Georgia |
| 1993 | David G. McCullough, Distinguished Historian, Author |
| 1992 (w) | Donald Andrew Hall, Distinguished Writer, Poet |
| 1992 (s) | Gov. Madeline May Kunin, Radcliffe Distinguished Public Policy Visitor |
| 1991 (w) | Henry Louis Gates Jr., Director, W. E. B. DuBois Institute for African-American Research |
| 1991 (s) | Lamar Alexander, U.S. Secretary of Education |
| 1990 (w) | Kenneth L. Burns, Documentary Filmmaker |
| 1990 (s) | Natalie Jacobson '65, Co-anchor, News Center 5 |
| 1989 (w) | Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., United States Navy (retired), Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff |
| 1989 (s) | Alex Haley, Author, Roots: the Saga of an American Family |
| 1988 (w) | Pres. Eugene Summer Mills, Whittier College |
| 1988 (s) | Marcy Peterson Carsey '66, Carsey-Werner Television |
| 1987 (w) | Ellen Goodman, Columnist, The Boston Globe |
| 1987 (s) | Vice Pres. George Bush, Vice President of the United States |
| 1986 (w) | Robert J. Dole, U.S. Senator from Kansas, Senator Majority Leader |
| 1986 (s) | Susan Stamberg, Journalist, National Public Radio |
| 1985 (w) | Pres. Ernest L. Boyer, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching |
| 1985 (s) | Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities, City University of New York |
| 1984 (w) | Stephen E. Merrill, Attorney General-Elect, State of New Hampshire |
| 1984 (s) | Helene Von Damm, U.S. Ambassador to Austria |
| 1983 (w) | Gov. John H. Sununu, Governor of the State of New Hampshire |
| 1983 (s) | Elizabeth Hanford Dole, Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation |
| 1982 (w) | William J. Bennett, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities |
| 1982 (s) | Paul A. Volcker, Chairman, Federal Reserve Board |
| 1981 (w) | Pres. Thomas H. Whyman, Pres. and C.E.O., C.B.S., Inc. |
| 1981 (s) | Warren B. Rudman, United States Senator of New Hampshire |
| 1980 (w) | Pres. Timothy S. Healy, Georgetown University |
| 1980 (s) | Pres. Jere A. Chase '36, Interim Pres. and Member, USNH Board of Trustees |
| 1979 (w) | Pres. Jere A. Chase '36, Interim Pres. and Member, USNH Board of Trustees |
| 1979 (s) | Pres. Robert J. Glasser M.D., The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation |
| 1978 (w) | Pres. David C. Knapp, University of Massachusetts |
| 1978 (s) | Pres. Thomas P. Mullaney '54, Dart Industries, Inc. |
| 1977 (w) | Pres. Jill Conway, Smith College |
| 1977 (s) | Pres. Joseph E. Slater, Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies |
| 1976 (w) | Prof. Edward C. Banfield, Prof. of Government, Harvard University |
| 1976 (s) | Pres. Peter Magrath '55, President, University of Minnesota |
| 1975 (w) | Bruce R. Poulton, Chancellor, University System of New Hampshire |
| 1975 (s) | Prof. Milton Friedman, Prof. of Economics, University of Chicago |
| 1974 (w) | Bradford E. Cook '70, Attorney |
| 1974 (s) | Fred W. Hall Jr., Attorney and Former Chairman, USNH Board of Trustees |
| 1973 (w) | Mrs. Douglas Horton, Chairman of the USNH Board of Trustees |
| 1973 (s) | Pres. Robert Woodward, University of Massachusetts |
| 1972 (w) | Pres. John G. Kemeny, Dartmouth College |
| 1972 (s) | Marcel Cadieux, Canadian Ambassador to the United States |
| 1971 (w) | Royden C. Sanders Jr., Sanders Associates |
| 1971 (s) | John G. Stoessinger, Acting Director, Political Affairs Division, United Nations |
| 1970 (w) | Dr. Arthur S. Adams, Consultant, New England Center |
| 1970 (s) | Edmund S. Muskie, United States Senator of Maine |
| 1969 | Pres. Roger P. Sonnabend, Hotel Corporation of America |
| 1968 | Pres. John W. McConnell, President of the University |
| 1967 | Pres. John W. McConnell, President of the University |
| 1966 | Dr. James B. Conant, President Emeritus, Harvard University |
| 1965 | Pres. G. Keith Funston, New York Stock Exchange |
| 1964 | Pres. John W. McConnell, President of the University |
| 1963 | Pres. John W. McConnell, President of the University |
| 1962 | Mildred McAffee Horton |
| 1961 | Dr. Alan Simpson, Dean of the College, University of Chicago |
| 1960 | Sinclair Weeks, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce |
| 1959 | Dr. John A. Hannah, President, Michigan State University |
| 1958 | Dr. Mark Van Doren, Prof. of English, Columbia University |
| 1957 | Sen. John Sherman Cooper, United States Senator of Kentucky |
| 1956 | Edward Weeks, Editor, The Atlantic Monthly |
| 1955 | Arthur S. Flemming, Director, Office of Defense Mobilization |
| 1954 | Gov. Hugh Gregg, Governor of the State of New Hampshire |
| 1953 | Pres. Arthur Stanton Adams, American Council on Education |
| 1952 | Pres. Robert F. Chandler |
| 1951 | Harold Walter Stoke |
| 1950 | Pres. Arthur Stanton Adams, President of the University |
| 1949 | Pres. Arthur Stanton Adams, President of the University |
| 1948 | Pres. Arthur Stanton Adams, President of the University |
| 1947 | Dr. John Sloan Dickey, President of Dartmouth College |
| 1946 | Dr. George Dinsmore Stoddard, New York Commissioner of Education |
| 1945 (s) | Pres. Albert N. Jorgenson Ph.D., University of Connecticut |
| 1945 (w) | Pres. Harold W. Stoke Ph.D., President of the University |
| 1944 | Pres. Carl Raymond Woodward Ph.D., Rhode Island State College |
| 1943 | Pres. John Schoff Mills Ph.D., University of Vermont |
| 1942 | Pres. Ralph E. Flanders, New England Council |
| 1941 | Pres. Fred Engelhardt Ph.D., President of the University |
| 1940 | Prof. Lillian Moller Gilbreth Ph.D., Prof., Purdue University; Pres., Gilbreth, Inc. |
| 1939 | Pres. Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, Rockefeller Center |
| 1938 | Pres. George F. Zook Ph.D., American Council on Education |
| 1937 | Pres. Fred Engelhardt Ph.D., President of the University |
| 1936 | Pres. Kenneth C. M. Sills, Bowdoin College |
| 1935 | Hon. Robert Lincoln O'Brien, Chairman, United States Tariff Commission |
| 1934 | Merle Thorpe, Editor, Nation’s Business |
| 1933 | Pres. Hamilton Holt, Rollins College |
| 1932 | Rev. S. Parker Cadman, Pastor, Central Congregational Church, Brooklyn, NY |
| 1931 | Pres. William Oxlely Thompson, President Emeritus, Ohio State University |
| 1930 | Rev. Garfield Morgan, Pastor, Central Congregational Church, Lynn, MA |
| 1929 | Charles Stelzle, Industrial Counselor, New York, NY |
| 1928 | Dallas Lore Sharp, Author, The Hills of Hingham |
| 1927 | Charles Reynolds Brown, Dean, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT |
| 1926 | William F. Anderson, Bishop, Methodist Episcopal Church, Boston, MA |
| 1925 | Rabbi Harry Levi, Temple Israel, Boston, MA |
| 1924 | Prof. Irving Fisher Ph.D., Prof. of Political Economy, Yale University |
| 1923 | Prof. Franklin Henry Giddings Ph.D., Prof. of Sociology and History of Civilization, Columbia University |
| 1922 | Prof. Frederick Jackson Turner Ph.D., Prof. of History, Harvard University |
| 1921 | Rev. A. Z. Conrad Ph.D., Pastor, Park Street Church, Boston, MA |
| 1920 | Raymond Robins |
| 1919 | Rev. Samuel McChord Crothers |
| 1918 | Rev. Albert Parker Fitch, Prof. of History of Religion and Biblical Literature |
| 1917 | Dr. Albert Bushnell Hart, Prof. of Government, Harvard University |
| 1916 | Dr. Charles R. Brown, Dean of the Yale School of Religion, New Haven, CT |
| 1915 | Rabbi Stephen S. Wise Ph.D., Free Synagogue, New York, NY |
| 1914 | Rev. George A. Gordon, Pastor, New Old South Congregational Church, Boston, MA |
| 1913 | Bliss Perry, Prof. of English Literature, Harvard University |
| 1912 | Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary USN |
| 1911 | Rev. Alan A. Stockdale, Pastor Union Congregational Church, Boston, MA |
| 1910 | Pres. Richard C. MacLaurin, Massachusetts Institute Technology |
| 1909 | Hon. Allen T. Treadway, President of Massachusetts Senate |
| 1908 | Norman Hapgood, Editor, Collier’s Weekly |
| 1907 | Walter H. Page, Editor, World’s Work |
| 1906 | Andrew Sloan Draper, New York Commissioner of Education |
| 1905 | Pres. W. O. Thompson, Ohio State University |
| 1904 | Prof. Thomas N. Carver Ph.D. |
| 1903 | Hon. J. H. Gallinger |
| 1902 | Thomas Wentworth Higginson |
| 1901 | Rev. George W. Moore |
| 1900 | Rev. Edward Everett Hale |
| 1899 | Pres. G. Stanley Hall, Clark University |
| 1898 | Pres. E. Benjamin Andrews, Brown University |
| 1897 | Prof. E. H. Higley |
| 1896 | Rev. A. E. Winship |
| 1895 | Hon. Fred Gowing |
| 1894 | Hon. Edwin Willits |
| 1878 | Rev. C. F. Allen |
| 1877 | Hon. John W. Hoyt |
Norbu Tenzing Norgay '86, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Christine McMahon '94, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Katie Bouton '96, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Roger Stephenson '79, '83G, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Ryan Day '02, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Michael D. Smith, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2024
Tim Collins, Doctor of Business, 2023
Dana Hamel, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2023
Jackie MacMullan Boyle, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2023
Bill Leak, Doctor of Science, 2023
Alyson McGregor, Doctor of Science, 2023
Denise Saltojanes, Doctor of Science, 2023
Laura J. Knoy, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2023
Jo Lamprey, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2022
Martin Kimani, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2022
Martin "Marty" Klein, Doctor of Science, 2021
Wolf Blitzer, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2020
David Brownell, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2020
Judge Arthur Bean, Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, 2019
David Brooks, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2019
Julie Palais, Doctor of Science, 2019
Shawn O. Gorman, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2018
Tito H. Jackson, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2018
Margaret "Peggy" Ann Shea, Doctor of Science, 2018
Edward Jr. Dupont, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2017
Maureen Hurley ’77, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2017
General Lori Robinson ’81, Doctor of Laws, 2017
Governor Christopher Sununu, Doctor of Laws, 2017
Richard Haass, Doctor of Letters, 2016
Kate Clifford Larson ’03G, Doctor of Letters, 2016
Colonel Colleen Ryan ’82, Doctor of Letters, 2016
Ryan M. Pitts ’13, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2015
Richard Whitney ’68, Doctor of Fine Arts, 2015
Jennifer Lee '92, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2014
David Hajjar '77G, '78G, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2014
Margaret Wood Hassan, Doctor of Laws, 2013
Mary A. Legere '82, Doctor of Laws, 2013
Andrew E. Lietz, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2013
Samuel Bak, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2012
Ronald K. Noble '79, Doctor of Laws, 2012
Amartya Sen, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2012
Nancie Atwell, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2011
David Cote '76, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2011
Florence Reed, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2011
Bert Jacobs, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2010
Lee M.E. Morin '74, Doctor of Science, 2010
Gary Hirshberg, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2009
Dennis Meadows, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2009
Richard Verney, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2009
Michael Brown, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2008
Charles Simic, Doctor of Letters, 2008
Daniel Mariaschin, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2008
James Thomson, Doctor of Science, 2007
John LaMattina, Doctor of Science, 2007
J. Bonnie Newman, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2007
William Jefferson Clinton, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2007
George Herbert Walker Bush, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2007
Michael O'Malley, Doctor of Performing Arts, 2006
Gene Sharp, Doctor of Laws, 2006
Carl Petrini, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2006
John H. Lynch, Doctor of Laws, 2005
Euripides L. Evriviades, Doctor of Laws, 2005
Tom Werner, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2005
Carol Etherington, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2004
Gov. Craig R. Benson, Doctor of Laws, 2003
Meryl Streep, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2003
Richard Linnehan, Doctor of Space Science, 2002
William W. Treat, Doctor of Laws, 2001
Gwen Ifill, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2001
Paul S. Anderson, Doctor of Chemistry, 2001
David R. Gergen, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2000
Juliana Eades, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2000
L. Dennis Kozlowski, Doctor of Business Admin., 2000
Barbara Bonney, Doctor of Music, 2000
Pauline A. Ikawa '77, 2024
Waypoint, 2024
Laura Landerman-Garber, 2023*
Deo Mwano, 2023
JeriAnne Boggis, 2022
The Huntington Family, 2022
NH Fisher Cats Foundation, 2022**
Claire Bloom, 2021*
Yvonne Goldsberry, 2021
Rogers J. Johnson, 2021
NH Department of Health and Human Services, 2021**
Jane Difley, 2020
William Rider, 2020*
SOS Recovery Community Organization, 2020*
Arthur Bean (Hon.), 2019
Judith Burrows, 2019**
Cathy Duffy Cullity, 2019*
Andrew Lietz, 2018
Joseph Reilly, 2018*
City of Manchester Fire Department, 2018**
Maureen Beauregard '87, 2017
Patrick Tufts, 2017*
NAMI New Hampshire, 2017**
John Harrigan, 2016
Jameson French, 2016
Hope Makris '46, 2015
Gerald Carmen '52, 2015
W. Douglas '64 and Stella Scamman '63, 2014
Bottomline Technologies, 2014
The Running Nuns of St. Charles Children's Home, 2013
Fred Minot Wetherbee II, "Fritz", 2013
Valerie Cunningham, 2012
Maxine Katz Morse, 2012
Eugene Savage '58H, 2012 (posthumously)
Donna-Belle Garvin and James Garvin '67, 2011
Patricia Rainboth, 2011
The Currier Museum of Art, Docent Program, 2011
Dudley Webster Dudley '59, 2010
M. Christine Dwyer G'72, 2010
The Way Home, 2010
The Timberland Company, 2009
William S. Bartlett Jr., 2009
Peter Ramsey, 2009
Joanne Lamprey, 2008
Georgina Reagan, 2008
James Squires, 2007
George Bald, 2007
The Saul O Sidore Foundation, 2007
Stephen Singer, 2006
T.J. Wheeler, 2006
Ann Peters, 2006
Katherine Wells Wheeler, 2005
David Kremples, 2005
Marcia Sink, 2004
Donald Shumway, 2004
Forrest O. McKerley, 2003
Michael J. Hickey, 2003
Dean Kamen, 2002
Doris "Granny D" Haddock, 2002
J. Wilcox Brown & Natale Linton, 2001
James Haller, 2000
William B. Ewert, 2000
*Former UNH Manchester Ceremony
**Former Granite State College Ceremony
Honorary Degree Recipients
Paul S. Boynton '73, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2022
Howard Brodsky, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2021
Randy Pierce, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2020
Heather Lavoie, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2019
Dean Kamen, Doctor of Science, 2018
Granite State Award Recipients
Laura Landerman-Garber, President, Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge, 2022
Claire Bloom, Executive Director, End 68 Hours of Hunger, 2021
William Rider, President and CEO, The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, 2020
Cathy Duffy Cullity, 2019
Joseph Reilly, Former NH Regional President, Eastern Bank, 2018
Patrick Tufts, President and CEO, Granite United Way, 2017
Lillye Ramos-Spooner, Director of Operations, Greater Manchester AIDS Project, 2016
Matthew Albuquerque, President and Founder, Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics, 2015
Gary Frost, Executive Director, Boys & Girls Club of Manchester, 2014
The Frederick Smyth Institute of Music, 2013
John Dudas, President, FIRST, 2012
Barbara Shepler, Docent Program, Currier Museum of Art, 2011
Mary Sliney, Executive Director, The Way Home, 2010
Georgina Reagan, Mayor’s Assistant for the Arts, City of Manchester, 2008
Saul O. Sidore Memorial Foundation, 2007
Stephen Singer, President, Merchants Automotive Group, 2006
Commencement Speakers
Paul S. Boynton '73, Founder and President, Begin With Yes, 2022
Howard Brodsky, Co-Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO, CCA Global Partners, 2021
Randy Pierce, President, 2020 Vision Quest, 2020
Heather Staples Lavoie, President, Geneia, 2019
Dean Kamen, Founder and President, DEKA, 2018
Kelly Ayotte, Former U.S. Senator, 2017
Kate Luczko, President and CEO, Stay Work Play NH, 2016
Richard Ober, President and CEO, NH Charitable Foundation, 2015
Deborah Watrous, Executive Director, NH Humanities Council, 2014
The Hon. Maggie Hassan, Governor, 2013
Stephen Norton, Executive Director, NH Center for Public Policy Studies, 2012
J. Bonnie Newman, Interim President, University of New Hampshire, 2011
The Hon. John Lynch, Governor, 2010
Peter Ramsey, CEO and President, Palace Theatre, 2009
Kevin Clougherty, CEO, Primex3, 2008
Ralph Sidore, Treasurer, Saul O. Sidore Memorial Foundation, 2007
John Clayton, Columnist, The Union Leader, 1994
Deborah Arnie Arneson, Professor, New England College, 1993
Carol Benthien, President, United Way, 1991
Gordon Haaland, President, University of New Hampshire, 1989
Dr. Richard Lederer, Linguist and Best Selling Author, 1988
John Hoben, President, Greater Manchester Development Corp., 1987
James Coleman, President, Merchants National Bank, 1986
