About Honorary Degrees

An honorary degree is one of higher education’s most significant forms of recognition. Winthrop University awards honorary degrees on a selective basis to distinguished individuals who merit special recognition for genuine achievement and distinction in a field or activity consistent with the mission of the University and whose selection will further the mission and purpose of the University.

Criteria for Consideration

An Honorary Degree may be awarded to a person who satisfies the following criteria:

  • Recipients of honorary degrees are restricted to those persons outstanding in their contributions or service to the University, State of South Carolina, the nation, the international community, or in their profession or field of endeavor.  Areas of excellence shall include, but not be limited to, scholarship; the arts; the learned professions; public service; and cultural, scientific, economic, or humanitarian activities.
  • Candidates should represent the highest values of the University.  Strength of character as it relates to the values and mission of the University is essential.

Nomination Process

All constituents of Winthrop University may submit nominations for an honorary degree. Nominations for honorary degrees should be made using the nomination form. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Please see Winthrop University’s Honorary Degree Policy for more information.

 

Honorary Degree Recipients

May 15, 1966 Christine Smith Gee Doctor of Humane Letters
May 19, 1968 Margaret M. Bryant  Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1970 Will Lou Gray Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1970 Cauline Martha Pardue Doctor of Humane Letters
May 14, 1972 Martha Marian Stringfellow Doctor of Humane Letters
May 6, 1973 Marquerite Talbert Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 1979 William H. Grier, Sr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 3, 1980 Marion Allen Wright Doctor of Humane Letters
May 3, 1980 Louis Booker Wright Doctor of Letters
Apr. 6, 1981 Dame Joan Sutherland Doctor of Music
May 8, 1982 James Strom Thurmond Doctor of Laws
May 8, 1982 Benjamin Elijah Mays Doctor of Humane Letters
May 7, 1983 Walther Douglas Smith Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 17, 1983 Diane Sawyer Doctor of Humane Letters
Aug. 29, 1984 Lois Rhame West Doctor of Humane Letters
Nov. 15, 1984 Rosalynn Smith Carter Doctor of Humane Letters
Nov. 15, 1984 Pierre Samuel DuPont, IV. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 1984 Nell Harmon Taylor Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 1984 Robert Evander McNair Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 1984 Estelle R. Ramey Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 8, 1984 Max Heller Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 8, 1984 Larry Pressler Doctor of Laws
Apr. 27, 1985 Terry A. Dozier Doctor of Humane Letters
Apr. 27, 1985 Allen E. Paulson Doctor of Humane Letters
Apr. 27, 1985 General Peter M. Dawkins Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 1985 James Alfred Joseph Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 1985 John William Jakes Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 1985 Stanley Roger Smith Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 1986 Dr. Albert B. Sabin Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 1986 Col. Charles F. Bolden, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 1986 Hugh M. Chapman Doctor of Humane Letters
Nov. 12, 1986 Richard W. Riley Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 21, 1986 Ernest F. Hollings Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 21, 1986 Terry Sanford Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 19, 1987 Donald M. Stewart Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1987 James Enos Clyburn Doctor of Humane Letters
May 7, 1988 Ruby Forsythe Doctor of Humane Letters
May 7, 1988 Terrel H. Bell Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 17, 1988 Robert Joseph Sheheen Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 17, 1988 Harvey Bernard Gantt Doctor of Humane Letters
May 6, 1989 Marian Wright Edelman Doctor of Humane Letters
October 22, 1989 Yehudi Menuhin Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 16, 1989 George Shinn Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 1990 John McKee Spratt, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec 15, 1990 Gov. Carroll Campbell, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 1991 Walter Y. Elisha Doctor of Humane Letters
May 9, 1992 Harry Lightsey Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 18, 1993 Rudy Mancke Doctor of Humane Letters
May 7, 1994 James Appleberry Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 17, 1994 Mark Erwin Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 16, 1995 James Hoagland Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 1996 Rosalind Richardson Honorary Baccalaureate 
Dec. 14, 1996 Earle Morris Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 14, 1996 Loonis McGlohon Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 20, 1997 Elizabeth D. Rhea Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1998 Robert B. Pamplin Sr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1998 Katherine Reese Pamplin Doctor of Humane Letters
May 10, 1998 Robert V. Royall, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
June 25, 1998 Edmond Lewandowski Doctor of Humane letters
Dec. 19, 1998 Philip Lader Doctor of Humane Letters
May 8, 1999 Cecily Truett Doctor of Humane Letters
May 8, 1999 Mary Sue Britton McElveen Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 18, 1999 Governor James Hodges Doctor of Humane Letters
May 6, 2000 Terry Peterson Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 16, 2000 Dai Weidong Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 2002 Crandall C. Bowles Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 21, 2002 Thomas E. Barton, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 2003 Anne Springs Close Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec 20, 2003 Inez Tenenbaum Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec 20, 2003 Albert Finney, Jr. Doctor of Humane Letters
May 8, 2004 Elaine Jones Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec 18, 2004 Lindsey Graham Doctor of Humane Letters
May 7, 2005 Joe Riley Doctor of Humane Letters
May 6, 2006 Ruth Shaw Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec 16, 2006 Reggie Lloyd Doctor of Humane Letters
May 5, 2007 George Kuh Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 20, 2008 Bobby Harrell Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 19, 2010 Irwin Belk Doctor of Humane Letters;
Dec. 17, 2011         Gary Williams Doctor of Humane Letters
Oct. 18, 2012 Gale N. DiGiorgio Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 2012 Doug Echols Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 2012 Sylvia Echols Doctor of Humane Letters
Dec. 15, 2012 Hugh Leatherman Doctor of Humane Letters     
May 10, 2014      Cece Stewart Doctor of Humane Letters
May 4, 2019 S.C. Rep. Gary Simrill Doctor of Laws
  Mary Spann Richardson Bachelor of Humane Letters
May 4, 2023 John Winthrop Doctor of Humane Letters