Honorary Degree Recipients
Honorary Degree Recipients 2024
2024 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Founder of School of Leadership Afghanistan
Shabana was 6 years old when the Taliban seized power in 1996. Under their regime, women could travel outside the home only while wearing the burqa and when accompanied by a male chaperone, and girls were completely forbidden from attending school.
Yet in cities and villages across Afghanistan, secret schools began to open. Often located in the living rooms of private homes, these schools were run by women and were open to girls whose families were ready to risk fierce retribution at the hands of the Taliban for educating their daughters.
Shabana’s family was among those ready, and Shabana and her older sister attended several of these secret schools in Kabul. Shabana’s sister was of an age where she could not be out in public without a burqa and a male chaperone – so Shabana dressed as a boy and accompanied her sister to these secret schools, both of them hiding their schoolbooks in shopping bags and varying their daily routines so as not to draw suspicion from the Taliban.
The regime’s fall in 2001 allowed girls to return to school openly in Afghanistan, and Shabana later attended a year of high school in the U.S. through the State Department's Youth Exchange Studies program before enrolling at Middlebury College in Vermont.
It was in 2008, as a student at Middlebury, that Shabana co-founded SOLA with the mission of providing access to quality education for girls across her homeland. SOLA remained a priority throughout her college years and became her lifelong commitment upon graduating Middlebury magna cum laude in 2011 with a degree in International Studies and Women & Gender Studies. Shabana has since earned a Master in Public Policy degree from Oxford University and has received honorary doctorates from SOAS University of London (2016) and Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania (2019).
At Middlebury, Shabana was awarded a Davis Peace Prize with which she built wells outside of Kabul; was selected as one of Glamour Magazine's Top 10 College Women of 2010; and received the Vermont Campus Compact 2011 Madeline Kunin Public Service Award for leadership and service to others.
In 2014, Shabana was named one of CNN International's Leading Women and one of National Geographic's Emerging Explorers. She is a global ambassador for Girl Rising, a call to action seeking investment in girls' education worldwide.
In 2018, Shabana was awarded the Malalai Medal, one of Afghanistan's highest national honors, for her work in promoting girls' access to education. In 2019, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in the social entrepreneurship sector; in 2021, The Washington Post named her a contributor to their Global Opinions section; and in 2023, she received the Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year award from the National Geographic Society.
In August 2021, days after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Shabana led the evacuation of the SOLA community from Afghanistan to Rwanda. This is where SOLA has re-established its operations and now exists as the only boarding school for Afghan girls operating on Earth.
Under the Taliban’s rule, Afghanistan in 2023 has once again become as it was during Shabana’s youth, with women’s rights profoundly restricted and girls forbidden from completing their educations. Shabana’s commitment is to the girls of Afghanistan, girls still in their homeland and girls scattered in the worldwide diaspora, and she is driven to make SOLA a place of hope and promise – a place where Afghan girls will always be free to learn.
2024 Honorary Degree Recipient
Elizabeth Moore
Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Conservationist and philanthropist
Elizabeth Moore is a conservationist and philanthropist with special interest in environmental and conservation issues and science education. She is well-known in southwest Florida conservation and philanthropic circles as a woman fiercely devoted to not just championing but also committed to funding initiatives that protect the planet and provide education about the environment, particularly for youth. Elizabeth has supported conservation efforts in New England as well as Florida.
Moore serves on the boards of several environmentally focused organizations and sees her role as a connector building relationships among all. Some include the TREE Foundation, where she is currently a Board Member (from 2020 through 2023, she served as TREE’s board president); the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast; and the Lemur Conservation Foundation. She serves as an advisor for the Museum of Science in Boston, the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., and the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Mont. Elizabeth is a founding director of the Climate Adaptation & Mitigation Center, which focuses on sea level rise, hurricanes and climate-induced health issues. She previously served on the boards of WUSF Public Media and the Boys and Girls Club of Manatee County.
Born in Syracuse, N.Y., Elizabeth grew up in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. She earned an MA in international affairs from American University and a BA in economics & French literature from Denison University (OH). In addition to being an avid tennis player, Elizabeth’s other interests include gardening, skiing, scuba diving, ballroom dancing, studying paleontology and reading books on evolution and anthropology.
Since becoming a resident of Florida in 2007, she transferred much of her attention to Florida’s environment. In the past seven years, she’s donated significantly to Florida nonprofits.
At RWU, Moore has been a member of the President’s Circle since December 2022.
She has five children: William, 31, a farmer in North Carolina using regenerative practices that enrich the soil; Nicholas, 29, an entrepreneur in Nigeria; Peter, 26, a Tufts University grad; Merry, 24, a student at the University of Southern California majoring in biochemistry with a minor in marine biology; and Grace, 24, an NYU grad and founder of The Global Center for Community Regeneration.
2024 Honorary Degree Recipient
Arlene Violet
Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa
Trustee Emerita
Arlene Violet is a native Rhode Islander. She completed her undergraduate studies at Salve Regina University, and she received her Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School. She was a Sister of Mercy for 23 years working on behalf of the poor in many areas including the inner city of Providence. She was a public interest attorney practicing consumer law, environmental law and developmental disability law. The case precedents, which she established, along with her election as the first female Attorney General in the United States, earned her a place in a book titled, “The Fifty Most Influential Women in American Law.” She is featured in the book, along with Hillary Clinton and Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. For almost 18 years, she has been a top talk show host. She was selected as one of the top 100 talk show hosts (out of more than 4,000) in the U.S. along with Don Imus, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. She was a member of the inaugural class for induction into the Rhode Island Radio Hall of Fame.
She regularly appeared as a legal and political commentator on the NBC, CBS, and ABC TV local affiliate, WPRO. She is a guest commentator on NPR radio and PBS television. She was featured on “Sixty Minutes,” “Larry King,” and “Crossfire.” Random House published her autobiography, “Convictions” in 1988. Her book regarding the witness protection program, “The Mob and Me,” was published in 2010 by Simon and Schuster. She writes a weekly political column, thus extending her viewpoints to reach all media.
Her community work includes participating on many diverse Boards of Directors including The R.I. Family Shelter, Opera Providence, Initiative to Educate Afghan Women, The Gamm Theatre, The Board of Governors of Rhode Island Hospital, Board of Trustees at Roger Williams University, and the Advisory Board of the Japan-American Society of Rhode Island. She has been selected as “Woman of the Year” by numerous organizations. Among her awards, she was the first recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service, and she received the local NAACP Humanitarian Award. She was inducted into the R.I. Hall of Fame in 1996; in 2007, she was elected to the Board of Directors of said Hall of Fame. She served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Woman’s Campaign School at Yale University’s Law School. While she was Attorney General, her colleagues in the United States Department of Justice honored her as the law enforcement professional of the year. Her pocket manual on search and seizures was provided to every R.I. police officer, and it became a model for other Attorneys General to use.
As an adjunct professor in a joint program at RISD and Brown University, she taught environmental law. She co-authored the first manual and school curriculum on law, which was used in many Rhode Island high school classes.
Honorary Degree Recipients 1974-2023
2023
Joyce M. Cummings and William S. Cummings
Co-Founders of Cummings Foundation
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Michael A. Cox
Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Thomas F. Gilbane, Jr.
Chairman of Gilbane Building Company
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
2022
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
and Chief Medical Advisor to the President
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
2021
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott
Director, Rhode Island Department of Health
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
2020
William Guy
Sagamore of the Pokanoket Nation
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Lorén M. Spears
Executive Director of Tomaquag Museum
Doctor of Education
Honoris Causa
2019
Clifford R. Montiero
NAACP Providence past president, Civil Rights leader
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Marcia Christopher Morris, J.D., MPA
RWU Board of Trustees vice chair
Doctor of Business Management
Honoris Causa
2018
Frank Elías Rainieri Kuret
Corporate Vice President of Business of Puntacana Group
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Frank R. Rainieri Marranzini
Founder, President and CEO of Puntacana Group
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
2017
Dr. Pablo Rodriguez
Chairman, Women & Infants Health Care Alliance
President and CEO, Women’s Care
Doctor of Humanities
Honoris Causa
Patrice Wood
Anchor, NBC 10 (WJAR)
Doctor of Communications
Honoris Causa
2016
Umberto Crenca
Founding Artistic Director, AS220
Doctor of Humane Letters
Honoris Causa
Barnaby Evans
Executive Artistic Director, WaterFire Providence
Doctor of Humane Letters
Honoris Causa
William D. Warner
Architect & Planner
Doctor of Humane Letters
Honoris Causa
(awarded posthumously)
2015
Timothy E. Baxter '83
President, Samsung Electronics America
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
Nathaniel Philbrick
Author and Historian
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable Roderick L. Ireland
Chief Justice (Retired), Massachusetts Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Robert B. Mann
Defense Attorney, Mann & Mitchell
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2014
The Honorable Lincoln D. Chafee
74th Governor of the State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Pulitzer-Prize winning Author and Historian
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Robert M. Barge, Esq.
Executive Director if Rhode Island Legal Services, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Robert D. Krause
Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Judith S. Kaye
Former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals of Counsel, Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2013
Larry Rachleff
Music Director, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
John M. Barry
Author and Historian
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Morris Dees, Esq.
Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Alice B. Gibney
Presiding Justice, Rhode Island Superior Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2012
The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright
The 64th U.S. Secretary of State
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Trudy Coxe
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, The Preservation Society of Newport County
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable Jack B. Weinstein
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Maureen McKenna Goldberg
Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2011
Denise M. Jenkins
Education Grant Program Officer, The Rhode Island Foundation
Honorary Doctor of Education
The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator
Honorary Doctor of Public Administration
The Honorable Robert G. Flanders, Jr.
Partner, Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP
Retired Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Paul A. Suttell
Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Betty Anne Waters ’98, Esq.
Legal Activist
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2010
William J. Bratton
Chairman, Altegrity Risk International
Honorary Doctor of Justice Studies
The Honorable Diane C. Mederos ’94
Town Administrator – Bristol, R.I.
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
Robert F. Stoico
Founder, The Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED
Charitable Foundation
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
Jan R. Schlichtmann
Plaintiff’s Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
O. Rogeriee Thompson
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2009
Ibrahim Arikan
Chairman, Arikanli Holding
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Joan Countryman
Educator
Honorary Doctor of Education
Jerrold L. Lavine
Chairman and CEO, The Freeman Group, Ltd.
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
The Honorable Jack Reed
United States Senator
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
The Honorable Federico Hernández Denton
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Louise Durfee
Attorney at Law
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Jacob Hagopian
Senior U.S. Magistrate United States District Court
District of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2008
Richard L. Bready
Chairman and CEO, Nortek
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Olympic Gold Medalist and Philanthropist
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Henry Rosovsky, Ph.D.
Economist and Educator
Honorary Doctor of Education
Howard G. Sutton
Publisher, The Providence Journal
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Linda Greenhouse
Supreme Court Correspondent, The New York Times
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Phillip Rapoza
Chief Justice, Massachusetts Appeals Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2007
Bobby Farrelly
Screenwriter and Director
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Peter Farrelly
Screenwriter and Director
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
W. Bruce Turner
President and Chief Executive Officer, Gruppo Lottomatica and GTECH
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Richard B. Williams
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Indian College Fund
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Shirley S. Abrahamson
Chief Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Walter R. Stone, Esq.
Senior Partner, Adler Pollack & Sheehan P. C.
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2006
Laura Bush
First Lady, United States of America
Honorary Doctor of Education
James Glenn Dudelson ’72
President & CEO, Taurus Entertainment
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts and Theater
Dean M. Esserman
Colonel, Chief of Police, Providence, RI
Honorary Doctor of Justice Studies and Law
Martha S. N. Livingston
Volunteer and Activist
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Elizabeth E. Meyer
Founder of The International Yacht Restoration School
Honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters
Beverly E. Ledbetter
Vice President and General Counsel, Brown University
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Ernest C. Torres
Chief Judge, United States District Court, District of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2005
The Honorable José Manuel Durão Barroso
President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Portugal
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Gary Beer ’74
CEO, Smithsonian Business Ventures
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
Gary R. Chapman
Chairman, President and CEO, LIN TV Corp.
Honorary Doctor of Letters
Paula J. Dobriansky, Ph.D.
United States Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Vincent Tese
Director, The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Management
Gene L. Booth
Former Director, Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Louis H. Pollak
United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2004
Ricardo Legorreta
Architect
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Diana N. Rowan
Human Rights and Environmental Activist, Philanthropist
Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service
Marc M. Spiegel
President & CEO, Academic Centers Abroad, LLC
Honorary Doctor of Education
Jack Valenti
Chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Association of America
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
W. Richard West, Jr.
Founding Director, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian;
Advocate for American Indian Issues
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Frank J. Williams
Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2003
Luther H. Blount
Inventor, Shipbuilder, Entrepreneur, Conservationist
Honorary Doctor of Marine Science
Elizabeth Z. Chace
Businesswoman and Philanthropist
Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service
Tony Curtis
Actor
Honorary Doctor of Dramatic Arts
Frank P. Davidson, Esq.
Co-founder of the English Channel Tunnel Study Group
Honorary Doctor of Macro-Engineering and Diplomacy
Joseph V. Vittoria
Chairman, ResortQuest, Inc. and Puradyn Filter Technologies, Inc.
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Avis, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Roscoe C. Howard, Jr.
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Margaret E. Curran
United States Attorney for Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2002
Rear Admiral Barbara E. McGann
Provost, U.S. Naval War College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Cathy Rigby
Olympic Gymnast, Actress
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Frederic Vincent Salerno
Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Verizon Communications
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Mary Tefft “Happy” White
Lifelong Supporter of the Arts, Philanthropist
Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service
The Honorable Bruce M. Selya
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2001
Yogi Berra
Former Major League Baseball Player,
New York Yankees and Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Honorary Doctor of Letters
L. Dennis Kozlowski
Chairman & CEO
Tyco International
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
The Honorable Victoria Lederberg
Associate Justice
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Paul M. Montrone
Chairman & CEO
Fischer Scientific International, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Science
The Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones
Senior Judge
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Robert Brydon Kent
Professor of Law Emeritus
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
2000
Sal Alfiero
Founder, Chairman and CEO
Mark IV Industries
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Ed Cohen ’78
Senior Vice President of Event Bookings and Operations, World Wrestling Federation
Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service
The Honorable Richard Holbrooke
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Kati Marton
International-affairs Journalist and Author
Honorary Doctor of Letters
The Most Reverend Robert E. Mulvee
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable Rya W. Zobel
United States District Judge,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
1999
Kristen A. Avansino
President and Executive Director
E.L. Weigand Foundation
Honorary Doctor of Education
Joseph M. Brito, Sr.
President
Brito Enterprises, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Alan Gerry
Chairman and CEO Granite Associates, L.P.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Rick Pitino
President and Head Coach
The Boston Celtics
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
Patrick J. Purcell
President and Publisher
The Boston Herald
Honorary Doctor of Letters
The Right Rev. Geralyn Wolf
The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable Guido Calabresi
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
James P. White
Consultant on Legal Education to the American Bar Association,
Professor of Law, Indiana
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
1998
Dr. Henry Lee
Chief Criminalist and Director of the Connecticut State Police
Forensic Science Laboratory
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Anthony Quinn
Actor, Artist, Author
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Antonio (Tony) Tavares ’72
President, Anaheim Sports, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
C. Robertson Trowbridge
President Emeritus and Chairman, Yankee Publishing, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable Juan R. Torruella,
Chief Judge, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
1997
J. Vincent Camuto
CEO, Nine West Group, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Management
Leon G. Cooperman
Chairman, Omega Advisors, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Finance
Alan Shawn Feinstein
Founder, The Feinstein Foundation
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
Louis Rukeyser
Host of Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser, PBS
Honorary Doctor of Finance
The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger ’94H
Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
1996
The Honorable Edward Irving Koch
Former Mayor, City of New York
Honorary Doctor of Public Administration
Cesar Pelli, FAIA
President, Cesar Pelli and Associates Architects
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Richard G. Huber
Distinguished Professor of Law, Roger Williams University School of Law
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
The Honorable Anthony McLeod Kennedy
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Honorary Doctor of Laws (School of Law)
1995
Nicholas A. Buoniconti
Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO, Columbia Laboratories
Honorary Doctor of Humanitarian Service
Lee Grant
Actress
Honorary Doctor of Arts in Theatre
Rabbi Leslie Yale Gutterman
Rabbi, Temple Beth-El
Honorary Doctor of Religious Studies
Marieluise Hessel
Investment Manager, Family Trust
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Jack Palance
Actor
Honorary Doctor of Dramatic Arts
1994
Lawrence K. Fish
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Finance
Allan D. Gilmour
Vice Chairman, Ford Motor Company
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Richard A. Hayward
Chairman, Mashantucket Pequot
Tribal Council
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Anne Szostak
Senior Vice President,
Fleet Financial Group
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Robert F. Tasca, Sr.
President, Tasca Lincoln-Mercury, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Commerce
1993
Vartan Gregorian
President, Brown University
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Stephen Hamblett
Chairman of the Board,
Publisher and CEO, The Providence Journal Company
Honorary Doctor of Journalism
Alan G. Hassenfeld
Chairman and CEO, Hasbro, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business
Donald F. Shea, Hon.
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1992
Mario J. Gabelli
Chairman, The Gabelli Group, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business
David E. Henderson
Chairman, President and CEO, Outlet Communications, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Communications (posthumously)
Fiorindo A. Simeone, M.D.
Professor Emeritus of Biological and
Medical Science, Brown University;
Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus, Miriam Hospital
Honorary Doctor of Science (posthumously)
The Honorable Joseph R. Weisberger
Justice, Supreme Court of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1991
The Honorable Francis J. Boyle
Chief Judge, United States District Court for District of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Faith Daniels
News Anchor, NBC-TV Today Program;
Host, A Closer Look
Honorary Doctor of Journalism
Paul M. Rudolph, FAIA
Architect, Teacher, Author
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
1990
The Honorable Thomas F. Fay
Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Henry Kates
President, Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Lillian Koffler
Philanthropist
Honorary Doctor of Community Service
1989
Bradford R. Boss
Chairman and CEO,
A.T. Cross Company
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Albert M. Grass
President and Chief Engineer, Grass Instrument Company
Honorary Doctor of Science
Charles J. Kelley
Founder and Chairman, Braintree Hospital
Honorary Doctor of Public Health
Thomas H. Lee
President, Thomas H. Lee Company
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
The Honorable Paul F. Murray
Retired United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
John C. Quinn
Executive Vice President/News,
Gannett Co., Inc.; Retired Editor, USA Today
Honorary Doctor of Journalism
Lois A. Rizzini
Wife of the President of Roger Williams College
Honorary Bachelor of Science
1988
Paul J. Choquette, Jr.
President, Gilbane Building Company;
Chairman of the Board of Gilbane
Properties, Inc.; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Beverly F. Dolan
Chairman, President, CEO and Director, Textron Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Carl Franzblau
Professor and Chairman, Department of Biochemistry, Boston University
School of Medicine
Honorary Doctor of Science
John McLaughlin
Television Broadcaster; Washington Editor, National Review
Honorary Doctor of Political Science
William T. O’Hara
President, Bryant College
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
James R. Winoker
President, B.B. Greenberg Company
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
1987
Joseph E. Cannon, M.D.
Retired Director of Health,
Rhode Island Department of Health
Honorary Doctor of Public Health
Donald E. Creamer
Chairman, WCRS/North America; Partner, Creamer Trowbridge Company
Honorary Doctor of Community Service
Robert H. Eder
Chairman and CEO, Providence and Worcester Railroad Company; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Stephen D. Hassenfeld
Chairman and CEO, Hasbro Bradley, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Alvin E. Poussaint, M.D.
Author; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and The Children’s Hospital
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
1986
William Spencer Crooks
Artist, Teacher
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Henry William Fazzano
Retired Executive Vice President, Imperial Knife Associated Companies
Former Executive Director, Port Authority, City of Providence
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
E. G. Marshall
Actor
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Eleanor Marie McMahon
Commissioner of Higher Education, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Education
Joseph Edward Murray, M.D.
Chief of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Medical Center (Boston)
Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Honorary Doctor of Science
Dennis Joseph Roberts, Hon.
Former Governor, State of Rhode Island
Former Mayor, City of Providence; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1985
Sarah B. Caldwell
Founder, Artistic Director and Conductor, The Opera Company of Boston
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
The Honorable Edward Daniel DiPrete
Governor, State of Rhode Island;
Former Mayor, City of Cranston
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Irving Raskin Levine
Economic Affairs Correspondent,
NBC News; Author
Honorary Doctor of Journalism
Ralph Raymond Papitto
Founder, Chairman, CEO and Director,
Nortek, Inc. (1967-1990); Chairman, Monogram Industries, Inc.; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Roger Williams College
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Thomas Reginald Peterson, O.P.
Former President of Providence College
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Howard R. Swearer
President, Brown University;
Former President, Carleton College
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Robert Willner
Retired President of RJ Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
1984
Thomas Ross DiLuglio
Former Lieutenant Governor,
State of Rhode Island; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Public Administration
The Honorable Alfred Hahn Joslin
Retired Associate Justice,
Supreme Court, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Juridical Science
The Honorable Frank Licht,
Former Governor, State of Rhode Island; Former State Senator; Former Justice, Superior Court, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
The Honorable William E. Powers
Retired Associate Justice, Supreme Court of Rhode Island; Former Attorney General, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Juanita Kidd Stout
Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Author
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1983
Harry Kizirian
Former Postmaster, Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
J. Terrence Murray
Chairman, President and CEO,
Fleet Financial Group, Inc. and Fleet National Bank
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
William P. Robinson
Retired Commissioner of Education, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Education
Maurice Sendak
Illustrator, Author, Costume and Set Designer
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Paul Charles Zamecnik, M.D.
Principal Scientist, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology
Honorary Doctor of Science
1982
Adrian Hall
Artistic Director, Trinity Repertory Company and Dallas Theatre Center
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
The Most Reverend Humberto Cardinal Medeiros
Former Archbishop of Boston
and Former Bishop of Brownsville, Texas
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Alice Winthrop DeWolf Pardee
Author, Poet, Playwright
Co-founder of the Bristol Art Museum
Honorary Doctor of Literature
The Honorable Edward D. Re
Chief Judge, United States Court of International Trade
Professor, Saint John’s University School of Law; Author
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable John J. Sirica
Senior Judge, United States District
Court for the District of Columbia; Former Chief Judge
Honorary Doctor of Laws
John C.A. Watkins
Retired Publisher, Chairman, CEO and Editor,
The Providence Journal Company
Honorary Doctor of Journalism
1981
Anabela Maria Mourato Cardoso
Former Consul of Portugal to Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
Albert E. Carlotti
Chairman, Board of Regents for Education,
State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Education
Rodolph-Louis Hebert
Retired, Philosophy Faculty Member
Roger Williams College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Ralph Arthur Martin
Vice President, Raytheon Company
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
The Honorable Fernand J. St. Germain
Representative to the United States Congress
First District, Rhode Island; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Public Service
1980
Joseph L. Lennon, O.P.
Vice President for Community Affairs
Providence College
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
William B. Macomber
Former Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)
Former United States Ambassador to Jordan
Former United States Ambassador to Turkey; Attorney; Author
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
The Honorable Raymond J. Pettine
Senior Judge, United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Bruce G. Sundlun
Governor, State of Rhode Island
Chairman and CEO, Outlet Communications, Inc.; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Edwin F. Wilde
Former Dean of the College
Honorary Doctor of Education
1979
Pierre Marie Galletti, M.D.
Vice President, Biology and Medicine, Brown University
Honorary Doctor of Science
The Honorable Corinne P. Grande
Associate Justice, Superior Court, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Sol Koffler
Retired Chairman of the Board and CEO, American Tourister
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Edward B. Martin
Retired Superintendent of Schools, City of East Providence
Honorary Doctor of Education
Harold Payson, Jr.
Retired Captain, United States Navy
Former Ombudsman and Science Faculty Member, Roger Williams College
Honorary Doctor of Education
The Honorable John Anthony Volpe,
Former Governor, State of Massachusetts
Retired United States Ambassador to Italy
Former United States Secretary of Transportation
Honorary Doctor of Political Arts and Science
1978
Eli Aaron Bohnen, Rabbi
Retired Rabbi, Temple Emanu-el, Providence, Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Divinity
John Carter Brown
Director, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Michael Ellis Debakey, M.D.
Former President, Chairman of the Department and Professor, Baylor University College of Medicine
Honorary Doctor of Science
Antoinette Forrester Downing
Architectural Historian
Historic Preservationist; Author
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
William F. Flanagan
Retired President, Rhode Island
Junior College (Community College of Rhode Island)
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Barbara A. Franklin
Former Executive Secretary to the President and to the Board of Trustees, Roger Williams College
Honorary Bachelor of Science
Michael A. Gammino, Jr.
Former Chairman of the Board and President, Columbus National Bank of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
The Honorable J. Joseph Garrahy
Former Governor, State of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1977
Rose Butler Browne
Educator and Author
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
The Honorable John H. Chafee
United States Senator; Former United States Secretary of the Navy
Former Governor of Rhode Island; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Nancy Bradford D’Wolf
Executive Director, Easter Seal Society of Rhode Island, Inc./Meeting Street School
Registered Physical Therapist
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Lucille McKillop, R.S.M.
President, Salve Regina College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Ethel Barrymore Colt Miglietta
Actress and Singer
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts
Felix A. Mirando
Co-founder and Retired Chairman of the Board, Imperial Knife Company, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Business Administration
Ada L. Sawyer
Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Michael S. Van Leesten
Former Executive Director, Opportunities Industrialization Center of Rhode Island, Inc.
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
Mabel E. Wade
Columnist and Former Editor,
The Providence Journal-Bulletin
Honorary Doctor of Letters
1976
Vincent Albert Cianci, Jr.
Former Mayor, City of Providence;
Attorney; Broadcaster
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Malcolm Mark Donahue
Associate Dean and Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Cyril Emmanuel King
Former Governor of the United States Virgin Islands
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Florence Kerins Murray
Associate Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws
William H. Rizzini
Former President, Roger Williams College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Harold Wayne Schaughency
Former President, Roger Williams (Junior) College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Stansfield Turner
Retired Admiral, United States Navy
Former Director, United States Central Intelligence Agency
Former President, United States Naval War College; Author
Honorary Doctor of Humanities
1975
Reverend Frederick Hesley Belden
Retired Bishop (Episcopal) of Rhode Island
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
James J. Doyle
Former Editor of the Editorial Pages, The Providence Journal
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
Paul Abraham Freund
Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Author
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Roberta Meade Kellogg
Roger Williams College
Honorary Doctor of Education
Frank Barry Maher
Former President, John Hancock
Mutual Life Insurance Company
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Claiborne de Borda Pell
United States Senator
Honorary Doctor of Laws
1974
The Most Reverend Louis Edward Gelineau
Bishop (Roman Catholic) of Providence
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters
J. Hartwell Harrison, M.D.
Former Chief of Urology, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital
Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Honorary Doctor of Science
The Honorable John O. Pastore
Former United States Senator
Former Governor, State of Rhode Island; Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws
The Honorable Thomas H. Roberts
Former Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Joseph Harold Gosling Way
Former Ombudsman and Faculty Member, Roger Williams College
Attorney
Honorary Doctor of Laws