Previous UNH Commencement Award Winners

**During the years where two ceremonies were held, they are marked (w) for winter commencement and (s) for spring commencement.

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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

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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

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JeriAnne Boggis, 2022

The Huntington Family, 2022

Yvonne Goldsberry, 2021

Rogers Johnson, 2021

Jane Difley, 2020

Judge Arthur Bean, 2019

Andrew Lietz, 2018 

Maureen Beauregard '87, 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

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