Information about http://www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/graduation/PastHonoraryDeg.pdf
Past Honorary Degree reciPients The first honorary degree was…
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Created: Tue May 13 13:12:31 2008
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Past Honorary Degree reciPients
The first honorary degree was conferred in 1877. Following is a list of those receiving honorary degrees, starting with the
year they received the degree, followed by their name and the honorary degree they received. In some cases a notation is
included about the individual if that information is available. Compiled by the Office of the Registrar.
1877: Isaac R. Roberts, Master of 1914: Charles Keffer, Doctor of Science. 1920: Wilmon Newell, Doctor of Science;
Agriculture; Farm Superintendent at Iowa responsible for the eradication of the citrus
State University. 1914: George L. McKay, Doctor of Science; canker in the U.S.
recognized for his work in dairying.
1879: J. L. Budd, Master of Horticulture; 1920: R. A. Oakley, Doctor of Science;
established ISU's Department of 1914: James Wilson, Doctor of Science. agronomist in charge of seed distribution in
Horticulture at Iowa State. the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
1915: Marion Dorset, Doctor of Veterinary
1879: James L. Geddes, Master of Medicine. 1920: Thomas L. Smith, Doctor of
Philosophy; distinguished career in the Engineering; prominent mechanical
British and Union Armies; first professor of 1915: LaVerne Noyes, Doctor of engineer and inventor.
military tactics at Iowa State. Engineering; received B.S. in 1872 from
Iowa State in the first graduating class. 1921: Carrie Chapman Catt, Doctor of Laws;
1887: A. A. Bennett, Master of Science. distinguished champion of the suffragist
1916: Clarence Henry Eckles, Doctor of and peace movement and organizer of the
1887: Luther Foster, Master of Agriculture. Science; head of the Department of Dairy League of Women Voters.
Husbandry Farms at St. Paul, Minnesota.
1887: M. Stalker, Master of Science; first 1922: Henry C. Wallace, Doctor of Laws;
editor Aurora, the student newspaper; 1916: Herbert Osborn, Doctor of Science; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
developed the curriculum in Veterinary helped organize the Iowa Academy of
Science. Science. 1925: George I. Christie, Doctor of Science;
Under Secretary of Agriculture, U.S.D.A.
1887: E. W. Stanton, Master of Science; 1916: Willis Whited, Doctor of Engineering;
received B.S. in 1872 from Iowa State in bridge engineer in Pennsylvania with the 1925: Clyde W. Warburton, Doctor of
the first graduating class; Acting President State Highway Department. Science; head of the Bureau of Plant
of Iowa State four times. Industry of the U.S.D.A. under James
1920: W.C. Armstrong, Doctor of Wilson.
1890: Charles Keffer, Master of Horticulture; Engineering; in charge of the building of the
received another honorary degree in 1914. Northwestern Depot in Chicago. 1926: Matt Luckieseh, Doctor of Science.
Only two people in Iowa State history have
received two honorary degrees. 1920: Joseph Charles Arthur, Doctor of 1928: George R. Chatburn, Doctor of
Science; received M.S. degree in 1877 , Engineering; head of the Department
1895: Matte Locke Macomber, Master of which was the first advanced degree from of Civil Engineering at the University of
Philosophy; received B.S. in 1872 from Iowa Iowa State; first librarian at Iowa State. Nebraska.
State in the first graduating class.
1920: Alfred Atkinson, Doctor of Science; 1928: W. K. Robbins, Doctor of Science;
1897: James Wilson, Master of Agriculture; president of Montana State College of outstanding agricultural chemist.
became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; was Agriculture.
the first of four Iowa State graduates to 1928: J. H. Shephard, Doctor of Agriculture.
serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 1920: Carlton R. Ball, Doctor of Science;
agronomist with the USDA and an authority 1928: Edward A. Sherman, Doctor of
1903: Robert B. Armstrong, Master of on plant rust. Science.
Philosophy.
1920: Isabel Bevier, Doctor of Science; 1929: Clifford P Fitch, Doctor of Science.
.
1903: W.T. Hornaday, Master of Philosophy; head of the Department of Home
world-famed naturalist and zoologist. Economics at the University of Illinois. 1929: Thomas H. MacDonald, Doctor of
Science; first Secretary and Highway
1907: J. C. Blair, Master of Agriculture. 1920: Dean Eugene Davenport, Doctor of Engineer for the Iowa Highway
Science; dean of the School of Agriculture Commission.
1907: I. B. Schreckengast, Master of at the University of Illinois.
Philosophy. 1932: John Hanmond, Doctor of Science.
1920: Arthur P Davis, Doctor of
.
1908: Virginia Corbett, Master of Engineering; president of the American 1932: A. J. Kluyer, Doctor of Science.
Philosophy; Dean of Women at Colorado Society of Civil Engineers.
State at Fort Collins. 1934: Henry Agard Wallace, Doctor of
1920: A. S. Hitchcock, Doctor of Science; Science; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture; was
1909: Norman J. Coleman, Doctor of agronomist in the U.S. Department of Vice President under Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Science. Agriculture.
1935: Duncan Marshall, Doctor of
1909: Seaman A. Knapp, Doctor of Science; 1920: L. S. Klinek, Doctor of Science; Agriculture.
appointed president of Iowa State College president of the University of British
from 1883-1885. Columbia. 1936: Ronald Alymer Fisher, Doctor of
Science.
1909: James W. Robertson, Doctor of 1920: John R. Mohler, Doctor of Science;
Science. chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry in 1936: Raymond Mollyneaux Hughes,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Doctor of Laws; president of Iowa State
from 1927 to 1936; his Handbook for
College Trustees was well regarded.
1940: Maria M. Roberts, Doctor of Laws; 1953: Ezra Taft Benson, Doctor of 1958: Herbert Henry Kildee, Doctor of
professor of mathematics and dean of the Agriculture; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Science; head of the Department of Animal
Junior College at Iowa State. Husbandry and Dean of Agriculture at Iowa
1653: Fred T. Whiting, Doctor of State.
1942: George Harrison Shull, Doctor of Engineering; employed by Westinghouse
Science. Company for many years; vice president for 1958: Allan Blair Kline, Doctor of Science;
Westinghouse Company in charge of the president of the American Farm Bureau.
1942: Wilbur M. Wilson, Doctor of Northwest district.
Engineering. 1958: Beth Baily McLean, Doctor of
1954: Thomas Roy Truax, Doctor of Science; received M.S. in 1933 from Iowa
1944: Rush B. Lincoln, Doctor of Science. Agriculture; head of the Forest Products State; the centennial program carried the
Division of the U.S.D.A. at Madison, following, "Home Economist, Business
1945: Milton Ferdinand Beecher, Doctor of Wisconsin; honorary degree conferred at Woman."
Engineering; official in the Norton Company the 50th anniversary of the Department of
in Worcester, Massachusetts. Forestry. 1958: James Lewis Morrill, Doctor of Laws;
president of the University of Minnesota.
1945: Thomas Ray Stanton, Doctor of 1955: Almon H. Fuller, Doctor of
Agriculture. Engineering; head of the Department of 1958: George Waddel Snedecor, Doctor
Civil Engineering at Iowa State. of Science; organized the Statistical
1947: Mabel Campbell, Doctor of Laboratory; first head of the Department of
Science; honorary degree conferred at the 1955: Bernard W. Hammer, Doctor of Statistics.
convocation celebrating 75 years of home Agriculture; involved in Dairy Bacteriology
economics at Iowa State. at Iowa State. 1958: Fred R. White, Doctor of Science;
chief engineer for the Highway
1947: Hazel Steibling, Doctor of Science; 1956: John Foster Dulles, Doctor of Laws; Commission.
honorary degree conferred at the U.S. Secretary of State.
convocation celebrating 75 years of home 1965: James H. Hilton, Doctor of Science;
economics at Iowa State; chief of the 1957: Belle Lowe, Doctor of Science; professor of animal husbandry at Purdue
Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Bureau of Home Economics, Washington, from 1927-1945; president of Iowa State
Economics, U.S.D.A. D.C., 1923-1924; food scientist and from 1953-1965.
professor at Iowa State College from
1948: Anson Marston, Doctor of 1918 until retirement in 1956; recognized 1991: Raymond Baker, Doctor of Humane
Engineering; first dean of engineering at for research on preparation, quality, Letters; director of research at Pioneer Hi-
Iowa State. and preservation of poultry, meats, and Bred International Inc.
fats; published Experimental Cookery, a
1948: Louis Bevier Spinney, Doctor of textbook for many American universities. 1992: Norman Borlaug, Doctor of Humane
Science; received B.S. in mechanical Letters; 1970 Nobel Peace Prize recipient
engineering in 1892 and B.S. in electrical 1958: Henry Dale Bergman, Doctor of for work in developing wheat varieties.
engineering in 1893 from Iowa State; Science; dean of veterinary medicine at
taught physics and electrical engineering Iowa State. 1993: Thorton A. Wilson, Doctor of Science;
in the Beardshear administration; later president of the Boeing Company in 1968
became head of the Department of 1958: Ralph Kenneth Bliss, Doctor of and chairman of the board in 1972.
Physics. Science; director of Agriculture and Home
Economics Extension at Iowa State. 1993: Charles Concordia, Doctor of
1948: Lyle Ford Watts, Doctor of Agriculture; Science; one of the most distinguished
chief of the U.S. Forest Service. 1958: Florence Alberta Fallgatter, Doctor of power systems engineers in the world.
Science; head of the Department of Home
1949: Earl Owen Shreve, Doctor of Economics Education at Iowa State. 1994: George Washington Carver, Doctor
Engineering; vice president of General of Humane Letters; received B.S. in 1894;
Electric. 1958: Charles Edwin Friley, Doctor of M.S. 1896; first African-American Student
Science; served as Acting President from at Iowa State; world renowned plant
1949: William Wesley Waymack, Doctor of 1935 to 1936; president from 1936-1953. scientist.
Science; editor of the Des Moines Register.
1958: Robert Earle Buchanan, Doctor of 1994: Hugh S. Sidey, Doctor of Humane
1951: Harry C. Murphy, Doctor of Science; dean of industrial science, head Letters; staff member and columnist for
Engineering; president of the Burlington of the Department of Bacteriology, Dean Time magazine for more than 30 years; first
Railroad System. of the Graduate College, and director of recipient of James W. Schwartz Award for
the Agricultural Experiment Station at Iowa "Distinguished Service to Journalism and
1951: Edward Norris Wentworth, Doctor of State. Mass Communication.
Agriculture; faculty member at Iowa State
College for a short time; distinguished 1958: John Walter Coverdale, Doctor of 1995: D. Gale Johnson, Doctor of Humane
historian of American livestock; author of Science; official in Rath Packing Company. Letters; teacher and researcher of the
American Sheep Trails. agricultural economic problems in Russia
1958: Gertrude Mary Cox, Doctor of and China.
1952: Roscoe C. Pollock, Doctor of Science.
Agriculture; received B.S. in 1913 and a 1996: M. E. "Gene" Ensminger, Doctor
professional Master of Agriculture on June 1958: Edward Bertram Evans, Doctor of of Humane Letters; achievements for his
15, 1921 from Iowa State. Science; received D.V.M. in 1918 from work in animal science, education and
Iowa State; attended Iowa State some international agriculture.
1952: Ruth Buxton Sayre, Doctor of Laws; summers in the 1930's; the centennial
outstanding woman in Iowa agriculture; program carried the following, "Veterinarian,
helped found Associated Country Women Agricultural Educator."
of the World; was appointed by President
Eisenhower to the Agricultural Advisery 1958: Theodore V. Houser, Doctor of
Committee in 1950; held posts in local, Science; president of Sears Roebuck and
state and national Farm Bureau women's Co.
organizations.
1997: Simon Estes, Doctor of Humane 2002: Katharine Abraham, Doctor of 2006: Robert D. Ray, Doctor of Humane
Letters; studied in voice at the University Science; an ISU alumna, she occupied Letters; an attorney in Des Moines for
of Iowa from 1956-1963; from 1964 to one of the most important professional 14 years; he served an unprecedented
1965 studied at the Julliard School of positions in the U.S. government dealing five terms as Governor of Iowa, from
Music; distinguished faculty member with economic performance and economic 1969-1983, and also served as president
at Julliard since 1986; recognized for policy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics; of the Council of State Governments,
extraordinary achievements in operatic under her direction, the bureau improved and chairman of the National Governors'
music, philanthropy, and generosity to its method for collecting employment Association, Midwestern Governors'
disadvantaged children. statistics, initiated a program to collect data Association, Republican Governors'
on job vacancies and improved the way the Association and Educational Commission
1997: Emery N. Castle, Doctor of Humane Consumer Price Index is measured. of the States; he also served as a U.S.
Letters; recognized for his outstanding representative to the United Nations; he
achievements in agricultural economics 2002: Dr. M. Daniel Lane, Doctor of was named "Most Influential Iowan" at
helping to improve the quality of life in rural Humane Letters; recognized for remarkable the turn of the century and holds honorary
America. contributions to research in the fields of degrees from 17 colleges and universities.
biochemistry and nutrition; his research
1997: Edwin G. Krebs, Doctor of Science; on the development and functions of 2007: Robert Byron Bird, Doctor of Science;
co-winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in adipocytes has made him an international Vilas Professor Emeritus of chemical and
Physiology or Medicine; recognized for leader in understanding the development biological engineering at the University
outstanding contributions in biochemistry and mechanisms underlying obesity; his of Wisconsin, Madison. Known for five
and medicine. studies have resulted in the discovery of a decades of books and research in chemical
novel appetite-controlling drug and other engineering and thermal science. Most of
1998: Federico Mayor, Doctor of important insights into basic mechanisms his childhood spent in Fort Dodge, Iowa;
Science; recognized for his extraordinary of appetite control; he continues to perform B.S. in Chemical Engr. from University of
achievements as a biochemist and for ground-breaking work in insulin signaling Illinois; Ph.D. in chemistry from Wisconsin;
promoting peace in the Middle East and and in mechanisms underlying diabetes. Fulbright Lecturer and Guggenheim Fellow
throughout the world. at Technische Universiteit, Delft, The
2003: Roy Whistler, Doctor of Science; Netherlands; Fulbright Professor at Kyoto
2000: John Vincent Atanasoff, Doctor of an internationally recognized leader in University and Nagoya University, Japan;
Science; with the help of graduate student carbohydrate research for more than half Fulbright Lecturer at the University of
Clifford Berry, designed, assembled and a century; Iowa State previously honored Sarajevo, Bosnia; and a visiting professor at
demonstrated the first electronic digital him with the Distinguished Achievement universities in the United States, China and
computer, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, Citation, the highest award granted to Belgium.
in the basement of Iowa State University's university alumni.
Physics Building; he remains an inspiration 2007: John Pappajohn, founder and
to generations of Iowa Staters with his 2003: Joanne Eicher, Doctor of Humane president of Equity Dynamics, Inc., and
legacy of inquiry and excellence in the Letters; played a key role in developing an Pappajohn Capital Resources, a venture
physical sciences and engineering. understanding of and respect for African capital firm. Served as a director on
textiles in this country. more than 40 public and private boards.
2000: Morris Soller, Doctor of Science; Awards include: Horatio Alger Award,
recognized for leading the way in the actual 2006: Vance Coffman, Doctor of Science; Iowa Business Leader of the Year, Iowa
discovery of genetic science. provided the technical and managerial Business Hall of Fame, Beta Gamma Sigma
leadership for some of the country's most Medallion for Entrepreneurship, Meredith
2000: Jean Marie Dubois, Doctor of important technological achievements and Wilson Heritage Award, Ellis Island Medal
Science; one of the world's leading is widely respected by the nation's military of Honor, and the first Iowan to receive
researchers in the area of quasicrystals; and civilian leaders, often being summoned the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate
credited with fostering and guiding by them for advice on how best to achieve Citizenship. He and his wife launched the
collaborative research on useful applications our country's national security goals. Pappajohn Centers for Entrepreneurship at
for quasicrystals, including a project several Iowa colleges. They received the
involving scientists at Iowa State University 2006: Graham B. Spanier, Doctor of Iowa Philanthropist of the Year Award in
and the Ames Laboratory. Humane Letters; president of the 1998, and were named Honorary Alumni of
Pennsylvania State University; known as Iowa State University in 2005.
2001: Keith Yamamoto, Doctor of Science; one of the nation's premier leaders in higher
internationally known research scientist education issues and helping universities 2008: Michael M. Crow, president of
and a leader in national science policy; meet the changing needs of the society Arizona State University. Bachelor's degree
known for his breakthrough work on steroid and world. in political science and environmental
hormone receptors. studies in 1977 from Iowa State University.
2006: Monkombu Sambasivan Earned his Ph.D. in 1985 from the Maxwell
2001: John Ruan, Doctor of Humane Swaminathan, Doctor of Humane Letters; School of Citizenship and Public Affairs,
Letters; Chairman and CEO of The Ruan he was educated in India and received the Syracuse University. Served on faculties at
Companies, Des Moines; recognized for his Ph.D in plant genetics from Cambridge the University of Kentucky and Columbia
generosity to the city of Des Moines, his University; he has been acclaimed by TIME University. Returned to Iowa State in
home state of Iowa and the international magazine as one of the 20 most influential 1985. He guided establishment of more
community; recognized specifically for Asians of the 20th century and one of three than 15 new applied research centers
his founding and ongoing support of the from India, the others being Mahatma and technology transfer organizational
World Food Prize Foundation, which seeks Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore; he is structures and mechanisms. Involved with
to publicize the challenges of feeding the considered a world leader in the field of the Institute for Physical Research and
world's growing population and recognize sustainable food security. Technology (IPRT) and Center for Crops
significant advances in our capacity to Utilization Research (CCUR). Served as
produce, improve and distribute food. senior adviser to the U.S. Departments
of State and Commerce on science and
technology policy related to intelligence
and national security and is a Fellow of the
National Academy of Public Administration
and member, Council on Foreign Relations.