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 |
