Past Ceremonies
Honorary Degree Recipients and
Commencement Speakers
2023
Aldon Morris, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Holly Eva Allen, MA 2023, Student Speaker
2022
Richard Carmona, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Jason Beck PhD 2021, Student Speaker
2021
Roberta Jenkins, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Nicole Dawson, MBA 2021, Student Speaker
2020
Carrie Herr, PMBA 2020, Student Speaker
2019
Beverly Palesa Ditsie, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Barbara Blatz-Stone, MA, 2019 Student Speaker
Laughlin McDonald, Honorary Degree Recipient
Betsy Levy Paluck, Honorary Degree Recipient
2018
Zubaida Bai, Honorary Degree Recipient
Whitney Martinez, MBA ’18, Student Speaker
Kim Stringfellow, Honorary Degree Recipient
Daniel E. Walker, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
2017
Jack M. Cuzick, ’74 PhD, Commencement Speaker
Steven Koblik, Honorary Degree Recipient
Lisa Seacat Deluca, Honorary Degree Recipient
Barbara R. Semans, Honorary Degree Recipient
Oliver J. Semans Sr., Honorary Degree Recipient
Krystana Walks-Harper, PhD ’16, Student Speaker
2016
Tim Brown, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Daniel Raymond Tri Dang Firpo, Student Speaker
Cecilia A. Conrad, Honorary Degree Recipient
Jeffrey Ashley Gibson, Honorary Degree Recipient
2015
Mukesh Aghi, Commencement Speaker
Andrew Dorantes, Student Speaker
Patrick Ball, Honorary Degree Recipient
Jeff Jonas, Honorary Degree Recipient
Jean-Baptiste Michel, Honorary Degree Recipient
Fernanda Viegas, Honorary Degree Recipient
2014
Mike Rossi, Commencement Speaker
Norma Leticia De La-Torre-Cervantes, Student Speaker
Andrea Bertozzi, Honorary Degree Recipient
Sherry Lansing, Honorary Degree Recipient
Marilyn P. Sutton, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
2013
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Deborah Hearn-Chung Gin, Student Speaker
David Blumenthal, Honorary Degree Recipient
Daryl G. Smith, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Dorothy B. Heide, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
David A. Kessler, Honorary Degree Recipient
Raynard S. Kington, Honorary Degree Recipient
J. Mario Molina, Honorary Degree Recipient
2012
Telle Whitney, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Ana Viola Thorne, Student Speaker
Armen Orujyan, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Douglas C. Stahl, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
Jack Dangermond, Honorary Degree Recipient
Laura Dangermond, Honorary Degree Recipient
2011
Linda Darling-Hammond, Commencement Speaker and University Citation Recipient
Rebecca K. Spence, Student Speaker
Kathleen A. Ross, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Catherine E. Keller, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Sonya Lee Anderson, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
Diane E. Watson, University Citation Recipient
Carlos A. García, Honorary Degree Recipient
Claude M. Steele, PhD, Honorary Degree Recipient
2010
Heidi I. Hartmann, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Mark Anderson, Student Speaker
Dr. James K. Hightower and Sharon Hightower, Distinguished Alumni/Alumnae Service Award Recipients
Edward R. Baker, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
Gregory J. Boyle, SJ, Honorary Degree Recipient
Joseph C. Hough, Honorary Degree Recipient
2009
James Carroll, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Darcy Highland, Student Commencement Speaker
William Cohen, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
Salman Ahmad, Honorary Degree Recipient
David Carrasco, Honorary Degree Recipient
Charles H. Long, Honorary Degree Recipient
2008
Richard Tapia, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Terry Crandall, Student Commencement Speaker
Earl H. Maize, Distinguished Alumni Recipient
Deepak Shimkhada, Distinguished Alumni Recipient
Robert C. Merton, Honorary Degree Recipient
Sheila Widnall, Honorary Degree Recipient
2007
Everado Carvajal, Student Commencement Speaker:
Diane E. Watson, CGU Distinguished Alumni Award
David Dreier, CGU Distinguished Alumni Award
Ernest Maldonado, CGU Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Alan I. Leshner, Honorary Degree Recipient
Faye Wattleton, Honorary Degree Recipient
Richard C. Atkinson, Honorary Degree Recipient
2006
Paul O’Neill, Inauguration Speaker and Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa
Denise Marcelle Campbell, Student Commencement Speaker:
Alfred Balitzer, CGU Distinguished Alumni Award
Subramanyam “Subbu” Murthy, CGU Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Congresswoman, Linda T. Sánchez, Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa
James C. Collins, Doctor of Management, honoris causa
Alan G. Lafley, Doctor of Management, honoris causa
John W. Mack, Doctor of Management, honoris causa
Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Doctor of Management, honoris causa
2005
Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN (Ret.), Commencement Speaker
Sacvan Bercovitch, Honorary Degree Recipient
William L. Everhart, Honorary Degree Recipient
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Honorary Degree Recipient
Mario Villarreal-Diaz, Student Commencement Speaker
Elizabeth Bobo, Student Speaker-Board of Trustees’ Dinner
Paul K. Longmore, Distinguished Allumni Award Recipient
Mary Toepelt Nicolai, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
César A. Piña, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
2004
John Seely, Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
DuWayne J. Peterson, Jr., Honorary Degree Recipient
Synthia Laura Molina, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
Michael M. Hertel, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
Karen Linkletter, Student Speaker
2003
Nancy Daly Riordan, Honorary Degree Recipient
Richard J. Riordan, Honorary Degree Recipient
Paul Zak, Associate Professor of Economics, Commencement Speaker
Jill Gold Wright, Student Speaker
James A. Turrell, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
2002
Kip Thorne, the Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics at Caltech, Commencement Speaker
Kevin S. Groves, Student Speaker
Marilyn P. Sutton, Distinguished Alumni Service Award Recipient
2001
Leslie H. Gelb, Commencement Speaker
Susan Elizabeth Stearn, Student Speaker