List of recipients of honorary degrees from Central Connecticut State University

Central Connecticut State University has awarded 54 honorary doctoral degrees since 1985.^[1] Awardees have included the CEOs or Chairmen of six major corporations, eight heads of state, and a variety of others. About half of these degrees have been awarded at commencement exercises at the university, and in most such cases, the conferee has given the commencement address.

Although significant non-degree honors have historically been awarded by the institution, honorary doctorates were not conferred until after Central Connecticut State College was renamed Central Connecticut State University in 1983. U.S. President Jimmy Carter became the first recipient on April 16, 1985,^[2] receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters.

List of Recipients

awardee		date	degree*
Shigenori Adachihara‡	Mayor, Atsugi City, Japan	05/23/1990	L.H.D.
Rt. Rev. Justice Akrofi†	Bishop of Accra, Ghana	05/18/2000	L.H.D.
József Antall, Jr.	Prime Minister of the Republic of Hungary	09/30/1991	LL.D.
Leszek Balcerowicz	Professor, Warsaw School of Economics and former Deputy Prime Minister of Poland	5/21/2011	Sc.D.
Ernest L. Boyer	President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching	10/05/1987	L.H.D.
J. William Burns	Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation	01/03/1995	LL.D.
George H. W. Bush^a[3]	President of the United States	03/11/1999	LL.D.
George W. Bush[4]	President of the United States	04/18/2001	LL.D.
Alexander M. Butman	Executive Director, Emergency Training Institute	04/28/1994	Sc.D.
Dave Campo†	Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys	05/22/1999	D.H.P.Ed.
Jimmy Carter^a[5]	President of the United States	04/16/1985	L.H.D.
Noam Chomsky	Professor of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology	11/04/2003	L.H.D.
Young Seek Choue‡	Chancellor, Kyung Hee University	10/22/1991	L.H.D.
Chungwon Choue‡[6]	President, Kyung Hee University	05/23/1998	L.H.D.
Mong Koo Chung	Chairman, Hyundai Precision and Industry Company	05/26/1989	L.H.D.
Simon A. Clarke	Education Advisor to UNESCO	05/24/1991	L.H.D.
Lemuel Rodney Custis	Capitan (Connecticut Tuskegee Airman)	05/26/2001	L.H.D.
Donald W. Davis	Chairman, The Stanley Works	05/26/1989	L.H.D.
Rainer Dieterich	Universität der Bundeswehr, Hamburg	05/25/2002	Sc.D.
Bruno Ficili	Commissioner of Education, Siracusa, Sicily	10/23/1996	L.H.D.
Gerald R. Ford^a	President of the United States	03/23/1988	L.H.D.
Mary Hatwood Futrell	President, National Education Association	10/04/1988	L.H.D.
Joseph J. Grano, Jr.	Chairman and CEO, Centurion Holdings, LLC	05/19/2007	L.H.D.
Harry Jack Gray	Chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation	05/17/1985	D.S.Sc
Edward T. Hall	1st Lieutenant (Connecticut Tuskegee Airman)	05/26/2001	L.H.D.
E. Dorrit Hoffleit	Senior Research Astronomer Emeritus, Yale University	10/20/1998	Sc.D.
Benjamin L. Hooks	Executive Director, NAACP	05/20/1988	L.H.D.
C. J. Huang	Chairman, C. J. Huang Foundation	05/10/1990	L.H.D.
F. Don James	CCSU President Emeritus	10/16/2003	L.H.D.
Eric Jensen	Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General, United Nations	05/27/1993	L.H.D.
Peter G. Kelly	Senior Principal, Updike, Kelly & Spellacy	02/25/2003	LL.D.
Jeane Kirkpatrick^a	United States Representative to the United Nations	04/04/1991	L.H.D.
Henry A. Kissinger^a	Secretary of State of the United States	03/24/1987	D.S.Sc.
Michael S. Knapp†[7]	President and CEO, CitiFinancial	05/25/2002	D.C.Sc.
Phyllis Macpherson-Russell†	Minister of Education, Jamaica	12/04/1999	Sc.D.
Frances P. Mainella†	Director, National Park Service	05/23/2002	D.P.S.
Paul J. McQuillan[8]^,[9]	Attorney, Januszewski, McQuillan & DeNigris	02/23/2004	D.C.J.
George J. Mitchell^a	U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Leader	04/12/2000	LL.D.
Brian Mulroney^a	Prime Minister of Canada	04/26/1994	D.S.Sc.
Connie Nappier, Jr.	Flight Officer (Connecticut Tuskegee Airman)	05/26/2001	L.H.D.
Antonia Coello Novello[10]	Surgeon General of the United States	05/28/1993	Sc.D.
Vincent O’Leary	President, State University of New York at Albany	05/28/1994	D.S.Sc.
Rabbi Henry Okolica	CCSU Campus Clergy	05/22/2003	D.P.S.
Irma Margarita Nevares de Rosselló	First Lady of Puerto Rico	05/20/1999	L.H.D.
Franz J. Rothenbiller	Lord Mayor of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	06/06/1991	L.H.D.
Helmut Schmidt^a	Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany	04/28/1993	L.H.D.
Angelo Tomasso, Jr.	Chairman and CEO, Tilcon, Inc	05/25/1990	L.H.D.
Francis T. Vincent, Jr.^a	Commissioner, Major League Baseball	04/28/1992	L.H.D.
Cecile A. Walden	Principal, Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, Montego Bay, Jamaica	05/27/2004	Ped.D.
Lech Wałęsa^a	President of Poland	04/10/1996	L.H.D.
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.	US Senator and Governor of Connecticut	05/27/2009	D.P.S.
Bertram W. Wilson	Lieutenant Colonel (Connecticut Tuskegee Airman)	05/26/2001	L.H.D.
Andrzej Wiszniewski	Rector, Technical University of Wrocław	05/28/1993	Sc.D.
Rt. Rev. Msgr. John Paul Wodarski	Pastor Emeritus, Holy Cross Church, New Britain	04/29/1999	L.H.D.

Notes

† recipient is a CCSU graduate^[11]

‡ recipient represented a partner of CCSU's International Affairs Center and Connecticut Institute for Asian and American Studies^[12],[13]

^a Honorary degreee awarded in connection with recipient's delivery of the Robert C. Vance Distinguished Lecture.

∗ abbreviated degree names:

D.C.J.: Doctor of Criminal Justice D.C.Sc.: Doctor of Commercial Science D.H.P.Ed.: Doctor of Health and Physical Education D.P.S.: Doctor of Public Service

D.S.Sc: Doctor of Social Science L.H.D.: Doctor of Humane Letters LL.D.: Doctor of Laws Ped.D.: Doctor of Pedagogy Sc.D.: Doctor of Science

References

1. Central Connecticut State University (May 16, 2012). Commencement exercises: May 2012, p. 43-44.
2. Carter Gets Honorary Degree (1985, April 17). Philadelphia Daily News, p. 64
3. Associated Press. (1999, March 12). Protesters disrupt Bush lecture. 'Rochester Sentinel', p. 8. Retrieved on 2012-5-28.
4. Associated Press. (2001, April 20). Progress being made on education reform. 'Daily Reporter', p. B12. Retrieved on 2012-5-28.
5. Associated Press (1985, April 17). Carter still pushing for peace and human rights: Gets honorary degree. 'Waycross Journal-Herald', p. P-2. Retrieved on 2012-5-28.
6. Silverman, Fran. 'Baby sister' at CCSU is center of attention. Hartford Courant, 5/24/1998. Retrieved on 2012-5-22.
7. Bank leader to speak at CCSU graduation.Hartford Courant, 5/21/2002. Retrieved on 2012-5-22.
8. Attorney to get honorary doctorate. (2004, February 20). Hartford Courant. Accessed 2012-05-28.
9. McQuillan also served as the personal attorney to CCSU Richard L. Judd (e.g., College President Is Accused of Impersonating a Police Officer. (2002, February 16). New York Times. Retrieved 2012-5-28.
10. Carlson, Meredith.Central honors accident victim. Hartford Courant, 5/29/1993. Retrieved on 2012-5-22.
11. Paul J. McQuillan attended, but did not graduate from, the institution (see listing).
12. Connecticut State University System (1990, February 2).Resolution establishing the International Affairs Center at Central Connecticut State University. Retrieved on 2012-5-28.
13. Connecticut State University System (1990, March 30). establishing the Connecticut Institute for Asian and American Studies at Central Connecticut State University. Retrieved on 2012-5-28.