Listed below are recipients from 2000 to 2009.
2009
Susan Athey, Doctor of Science
Economist and educator, first woman to receive the John Bates Clark Medal
Michael Brown and Joseph Goldstein, Doctor of Science
Nobel Prize winning geneticists, studies led to the discovery of statins
James Moeser, Doctor of Letters
Former Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mario Molina, Doctor of Science
Nobel Prize winning chemist and environmental scientist
Indra Nooyi, Doctor of Laws
Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo
Murray Perahia, Doctor of Fine Arts
Concert pianist and conductor
Robert Redford, Doctor of Fine Arts
Actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance and environmental advocate
Oprah Winfrey, Doctor of Humane Letters
Media entrepreneur and philanthropist
2008
Wendell Berry, Doctor of Literature
Essayist, poet, and novelist
Helene Gayle, Doctor of Science
International public health leader; CEO and president of CARE
James Goodmon, Doctor of Laws
President and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting Co., Inc.
Barbara Kingsolver, Doctor of Humane Letters
Novelist, essayist, poet, non-fiction and short-story writer
Patricia Wald, Doctor of Laws
First woman to serve on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
2007
Anita Jones, Doctor of Science
Information technology pioneer
Peter Storey, Doctor of Humane Letters
South African Methodist minister and bishop
Twyla Tharp, Doctor of Fine Arts
Professional dancer and choreographer
Florence Wald, Doctor of Humane Letters
Founder of the American Hospice Movement
2006
Steven Chu, Doctor of Science
Director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Nobel Prize winner
Martin Eakes, Doctor of Humane Letters
Founder and CEO of Self-Help Community Development Corporation
Nina Totenberg, Doctor of Humane Letters
Legal Affairs Correspondent for NPR
James Wyngaarden, Doctor of Science
Former Director of the National Institutes of Health
2005
John H. Adams, Doctor of Laws
Co-Founder and President of the National Resources Defense Council
Robin Chandler Duke, Doctor of Humane Letters
Former Ambassador to Norway; international human rights leader
Roald Hoffmann, Doctor of Science
Nobel Prize winning chemist
Freeman A. Hrabowski, Doctor of Letters
President of the University of Maryland Baltimore County; national leader in programs for minority students in science and math
Ricardo Lagos, Doctor of Laws
President of Chile
Mary Robinson, Doctor of Humane Letters
Director of the Ethical Global Initiative; previously first female President of Ireland
2004
Madeleine K. Albright, Doctor of Humane Letters
Former U.S. Secretary of State and Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Richard J. Goldstone, Doctor of Laws
Former Justice to the Constitutional Court of South Africa; world leader in international humanitarian law
Phillip A. Griffiths, Doctor of Science
Former Director of the Institute for Advanced Study and world renowned mathematician
Oliver Smithies, Doctor of Science
Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and scientific pioneer
2003
Frank L. Bowman, Doctor of Humane Letters
Admiral, United States Navy, and recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Judy Chicago, Doctor of Fine Arts
Feminist art and art education pioneer
Richard D. Klausner, Doctor of Science
Executive Director of Global Health; former Director of the National Cancer Institute
Charles L. Reinhart, Doctor of Fine Arts
President, Director, and Co-Founder of the American Dance Festival
2002
John Wesley Chandler, Doctor of Laws
Educational leader; former President of Hamilton College, Williams College, and Association of American Colleges
Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, Doctor of Humane Letters
World-class comparative social scientist
Eleanor Thomas Elliott, Doctor of Humane Letters
Leader on behalf of women in education, health care, and civic and corporate life; President of Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
John R. Lewis, Doctor of Laws
U.S. Congressman representing Georgia; civil rights leader
Thomas K. Wolfe, Jr., Doctor of Literature
Journalist and best-selling novelist
2001
David R. Gergen, Doctor of Humane Letters
Journalist and political analyst; advisor to four U.S. Presidents
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Doctor of Humane Letters
Award-winning print and broadcast journalist
Patrick M. Williams, Doctor of Fine Arts
Award-winning composer, arranger, director, and recording artist
2000
Elizabeth H. Dole, Doctor of Humane Letters
Former Presidential candidate; first woman to head two Federal cabinet agencies - American Red Cross and Department of Labor
Andrew Jackson Young, Jr., Doctor of Laws
Civil rights leader, minister, former Congressman from Georgia, two-term mayor of Atlanta and Ambassador to the U.N.