Commencement
The Graduate Center proudly celebrates its accomplished graduates each year at commencement.

The Graduate Center proudly celebrates its accomplished graduates each year at commencement.
Our most recent ceremony:
Honororay Degrees
The CUNY Graduate Center is proud to have presented the following recipients honorary degrees:
Last Name | First Name | Degree | Recognition Type | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
Takei | George | Doctor of Humane Letters | Community activist, author, actor | 2023 |
Gay | Roxanne | Doctor of Humane Letters | Novelist, essayist, memoirist, commentator and professor | 2019 |
Miranda | Luis | Doctor of Humane Letters |
Leader in Latino political, economic, educational and cultural advocacy |
2019 |
Katyal | Neal | Doctor of Humane Letters | Law Professor and Lawyer specializing in National Security | 2018 |
Viner | Katharine | Doctor of Humane Letters | Journalist, Playwright and Editor-in Chief of The Guardian Degree | 2018 |
Gupta | Vanita | Doctor of Humane Letters | Former Principal US Deputy Assistant Attorney General | 2017 |
Shawky | Wael | Doctor of Humane Letters | Artist | 2017 |
Stern | Lord Nicholas | Doctor of Humane Letters | Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment | 2017 |
Simpson | Lorna | Doctor of Humane Letters | Artist | 2016 |
Williams | Reba White | Doctor of Humane Letters | ‘96, Art Historian, Novelist and Philanthropist | 2016 |
Wong | Curtis | Doctor of Humane Letters | Principal Researcher in Digital Media, Microsoft Research | 2016 |
Davis | Lydia | Doctor of Humane Letters | MacArthur Prize winning fiction writer, translator and professor | 2015 |
Phelps de Cisneros | Patricia | Doctor of Humane Letters | Co-founder Fundacion Cisneros | 2015 |
Poo | Ai-jen | Doctor of Humane Letters | Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance | 2015 |
Goodheart | Eugene | Doctor of Humane Letters | Professor Emeritus, Brandeis University | 2014 |
Lauder | Leonard | Doctor of Humane Letters | Chairman Emeritus, the Estee Lauder Corporation and art collector | 2014 |
Vilĉek | Jan | Doctor of Humane Letters | Biomedical scientist, educator, inventor and philanthropist and public intellectual | 2014 |
Weiner | Lawrence | Doctor of Humane Letters | A founding figure of conceptual Art | 2013 |
Wilson | Robert | Doctor of Humane Letters | Theatres leading Avant-garde director and playwright. | 2013 |
Goodman | Marian | Doctorate of Humane Letters | International Art Gallerist | 2012 |
Levine | Phillip | Doctorate of Humane Letters | United States Poet Laureate | 2012 |
Caro | Robert A. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2011 | |
Caro | Ina | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2011 | |
Streicker | John Harrison | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2011 | |
D’Rivera | Paquito | Doctor of Musical Arts | 2010 | |
Sloan | Richard P. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2010 | |
Hertog | Roger | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2009 | |
Horne | Lenaosterr | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2009 | |
Bowen | William G. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2008 | |
Coleman | Ornette | Doctor of Musical Arts | 2008 | |
Hirsch | Edward | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2008 | |
Gund | Agnes | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2007 | |
Lelyveld | Joseph | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2007 | |
Smith | Jean Kennedy | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2007 | |
Brown Jr. | Roscoe C. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2006 | |
Doctorow | E.L. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2006 | |
Navasky | Victor | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2006 | |
Belafonte | Harry | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2005 | |
Krim | Mathilde | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2005 | |
Tanenbaum | Charles Joseph | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2005 | |
Cardoso | Fernando Henrique | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2004 | |
Hewitt | Don | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2004 | |
Ponsot | Marie | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2004 | |
Short | Boby | Doctor of Music | 2004 | |
Smith | Thomas W. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2004 | |
Jones | Elaine R. | Doctor of Laws | 2003 | |
McGee | Vincent | Doctor of Laws | 2003 | |
Bandura | Albert | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2002 | |
Edelstein | Julius C.C. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2002 | |
Jackson | Kenneth T. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2002 | |
Robinson | Rachel | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2002 | |
Steinem | Gloria | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2002 | |
Comden | Betty | Doctor of Music | 2001 | |
Dickerson Jr. | Ralph | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2001 | |
Durst | Douglas | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2001 | |
Green | Adolph | Doctor of Music | 2001 | |
Hertzberg | RabbiArthur | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2001 | |
Hollander | Dr. John | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2001 | |
Schwartz | Anna Jacobson | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2000 | |
Shenson | A.Jess | Doctor of Humane Letters | 2000 | |
Turnbull | Walter | Doctor of Music | 2000 | |
Jones | David R. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1999 | |
McPartland | Marian | Doctor of Music | 1999 | |
Schlesinger Jr. | Arthur M. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1999 | |
Schoenfeld | Gerald | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1999 | |
Goodgold | Sally | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1998 | |
Ho | David | Doctor of Science | 1998 | |
Long | Gregory | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1998 | |
Nestle | Joan | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1998 | |
Cunningham | Evelyn | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1997 | |
Golden | William T. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1997 | |
Moreau | Jeanne | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1997 | |
Papert | Frederic S. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1997 | |
Burnshaw | Stanley | Doctor of Letters | 1996 | |
Merrill | Robert | Doctor of Music | 1996 | |
Ehrenhalt | SamuelM. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1995 | |
Lawrence | Jacob | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1995 | |
Paley | Grace | Doctor of Letters | 1995 | |
Zigler | Edward F. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1995 | |
Bildner | Albert | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1994 | |
Guggenheimer | Eleanor | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1994 | |
Monette | Paul | Doctor of Letters | 1994 | |
Ellison | Ralph | Doctor of Letters | 1993 | |
Heiskell | Andrew | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1993 | |
Kronenfeld | Daniel | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1993 | |
Lortel | Lucille | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1993 | |
Schwartz | Felice N. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1993 | |
Friedan | Betty | Doctor of Laws | 1992 | |
Higginbotham Jr. | A. Leon | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1992 | |
Studley | Julien | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1992 | |
Fernandez | Joseph A. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1990 | |
Gregorian | Vartan | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1990 | |
Harper | Conrad K. | Doctor of Laws | 1990 | |
McCormack | Elizabeth J. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1990 | |
Franklin | John Hope | Doctor of Letters | 1989 | |
Gor'Kov | Lev | Doctor of Science | 1989 | |
Rose | Marshall | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1989 | |
Wilson | August | Doctor of Letters | 1989 | |
Cohn | Sidney E. | Doctor of Laws | 1988 | |
Edelman | Marian Wright | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1988 | |
Gelfand | Izrael Moisevich | Doctor of Science | 1988 | |
Kornblith | JohnH. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1988 | |
Poses | Lillian L. | Doctor of Laws | 1988 | |
Sakharov | Andrei | Doctor of Science | 1988 | |
Agrait | Fernando E. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1987 | |
Fink | Stanley | Doctor of Laws | 1987 | |
Howe | Irving | Doctor of Letters | 1987 | |
LaPidus | Jules B. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1987 | |
Monticciolo | Joseph D. | Doctor of Laws | 1987 | |
Rewald | John | Doctor of Letters | 1987 | |
Stewart | Donald M. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1987 | |
Ferragamo | Wanda | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1986 | |
Fugard | Athol | Doctor of Letters | 1986 | |
Moynihan | Elizabeth | Doctor of Letters | 1986 | |
Rosovsky | Henry | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1986 | |
Tufo | Peter | Doctor of Laws | 1986 | |
Urquhart | Brian Edward | Doctor of Laws | 1986 | |
Gray | Hanna Holborn | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1985 | |
Heiskell | Marian | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1985 | |
Langlands | Robert Phelan | Doctor of Science | 1985 | |
Suzuki | Shunichi | Doctor of Laws | 1985 | |
Zeller | Belle | Doctor of Laws | 1985 | |
Goodrich | Lloyd | Doctor of Letters | 1984 | |
Mazer | William | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1984 | |
Selikoff | Irving J. | Doctor of Science | 1984 | |
Wellek | Rene | Doctor of Letters | 1984 | |
Gucci | Aldo | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1983 | |
Hoffman | Roald | Doctor of Science | 1983 | |
Shanker | Albert | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1983 | |
Streep | Meryl | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1983 | |
Frisch | Max R. | Doctor of Letters | 1982 | |
Llewellyn | James B. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1982 | |
Stanton | Frank | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1982 | |
Cronkite | Walter | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1981 | |
Krukoff | Boris A. | Doctor of Science | 1981 | |
Lipinski | Edward | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1981 | |
Pace | Norma T. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1981 | |
Walesa | Lech | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1981 | |
Chaiken | Solomon | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1980 | |
Lynes | Russell | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1980 | |
Robbins | Jerome | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1980 | |
Cohen | Gerson | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1979 | |
Handler | Philip | Doctor of Science | 1979 | |
Marshak | Robert Eugene | Doctor of Science | 1979 | |
Piel | Gerard | Doctor of Science | 1979 | |
Press | Frank | Doctor of Science | 1979 | |
Segal | Martin | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1979 | |
Barneby | Rupert Charles | Doctor of Science | 1978 | |
Benzer | Seymour | Doctor of Science | 1978 | |
Duffey | Joseph D. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1978 | |
McGraw Jr. | Harold Whittlesey | Doctor of Letters | 1978 | |
Huxtable | AdaLouise | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1977 | |
Lumiansky | Robert M. | Doctor of Letters | 1977 | |
Young Jr. | Andrew | Doctor of Laws | 1977 | |
Oakes | John Bertram | Doctor of Letters | 1976 | |
Poses | Jack I. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1976 | |
Spiegelman | Sol | Doctor of Science | 1976 | |
Ingersoll | Minneola P. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1975 | |
Murphy | Gardner | Doctor of Science | 1975 | |
Samkalden | Ivo | Doctor of Laws | 1975 | |
Sirica | John | Doctor of Laws | 1975 | |
White | Morton Gabriel | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1975 | |
Cohen | Paul Joseph | Doctor of Science | 1974 | |
Papp | Joseph | Doctor of Fine Arts | 1974 | |
Rees | Mina | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1974 | |
Bowker | Albert H. | Doctor of Humane Letters | 1971 |