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