Kettering University Honorary Degree Recipients
The historic origins of the presentation of an honorary degree date to the 1470s, when the University of Oxford presented the first recorded honoris causa degree (Latin: "for the sake of the honour"). Kettering University has been presenting honorary degrees since 1986. It is one of the highest recognitions presented at the University.
Name |
Degree |
Month/Year |
Title and Company when degree was conferred |
|
Roger B. Smith |
Doctor of Management |
June 1986 |
Chairman, General Motors Corporation |
|
Hans A. Matthias |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1987 |
Retired Vice President, Ford Motor Company |
|
Paul F. Oreffice |
Doctor of Management |
June 1987 |
Chairman, President and CEO, Dow Chemical Company |
|
Donald F. Ephlin |
Doctor of Humanities |
June 1988 |
International Vice President, United Auto Workers |
|
Martha R. Seger |
Doctor of Management |
June 1988 |
Member, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System |
|
F. James McDonald '44 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1988 |
Retired President, General Motors Corporation |
|
Hermann Scholl |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1988 |
President, Robert Bosch Corporation |
|
Elliott M. (Pete) Estes '38 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1988 |
Retired President, General Motors Corporation |
|
Jaime Escalante |
Doctor of Humanities |
June 1989 |
Mathematics Teacher, Garfield High School, East Los Angeles, CA |
|
Richard L. Terrell |
Doctor of Management |
June 1989 |
Vice Chairman, General Motors Corporation and Retired, Board of Directors |
|
Frances Hesselbein |
Doctor of Management |
June 1990 |
President and CEO of Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management and Retired CEO of the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. |
|
Milford Barron '37 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1991 |
President, Precision Instruments in Grand Blanc, MI |
|
Joseph T. Gorman |
Doctor of Management |
June 1992 |
Chairman and CEO, TRW, Inc. |
|
Mrs. C. S. (Ruth) Mott |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 1992 |
Philanthropist, Flint, MI |
|
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. |
Doctor of Management |
June 1992 |
Chairman and CEO, TIAA-CREF in New York City |
|
Lester M. Alberthal, Jr. |
Doctor of Management |
June 1993 |
Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO, Electronic Data Systems Corporation |
|
E. Douglas Hougen |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1993 |
President, Hougen Manufacturing Company |
|
Kent C. Nelson |
Doctor of Management |
June 1993 |
Chairman and CEO, United Parcel Service |
|
Donald R. Beall |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1994 |
Chairman of the Board and CEO, Rockwell International Corporation |
|
Scott G. McNealy |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1994 |
President, Chairman, CEO, Sun Microsystems Inc. |
|
Robert E. Reiss '60 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1994 |
Chairman and CEO, InterVentional Technologies, Inc. |
|
Mrs. Virginia W. Kettering |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
September 1994 |
Philanthropist, Dayton, Ohio |
|
Mrs. Zelpha McKinnon |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 1994 |
Philanthropist, Flint, MI |
|
Mylon Eugene Merchant |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 1994 |
Retired, Research Scientist, Milacron Co., Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
Arthur L. Tuuri, M.D. |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 1994 |
Retired, Pediatrition (M.D.), Mott Childrens Health Center (Polio Research) |
|
Edward N. Harris |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 1995 |
Retired, Former President, Gulf + Western Manufacturing Co. |
|
Warren J. McEleney '44 |
Doctor of Management |
June 1995 |
President, McEleney Motors Inc. |
|
David C. Collier |
Doctor of Management |
December 1995 |
Charter Member and Incorporator, GMI Board of Trustees |
|
Donald E. Johnson, Jr. |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 1996 |
Retired, Chairman, Citizens Bank in Flint, MI |
|
Martin D. Walker '54 |
Doctor of Management |
June 1996 |
Chairman and CEO, M.A. Hanna Company in Cleveland, Ohio |
|
Frederick G. Wacker, Jr. '42 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1996 |
Chairman of the Board, Liquid Controls Corporation, Lake Bluff, IL |
|
William S. White |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 1996 |
Chairman, President, CEO The C.S. Mott Foundation, Flint, MI |
|
Carol Bartz |
Doctor of Management |
June 1997 |
Chairman of the Board, President, CEO of Autodesk, Inc. |
|
Benjamin Carson, M.D. |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 1997 |
Neurosurgeon (M.D.) at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD |
|
Albert James Sobey '45 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 1997 |
President, Albert Sobey & Associates |
|
Frank Stronach |
Doctor of Management |
December 1997 |
Chairman, Magna International Inc. in Canada |
|
John F. Smith, Jr. |
Doctor of Management |
June 1998 |
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, General Motors Corporation |
|
Klaus von Trotha |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 1998 |
Minister of Science, Arts, Research Baden-Wurttemberg, Stuttgart, FRG |
|
John H. McConnell |
Doctor of Management |
December 1998 |
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Worthington Industries |
|
Curtis E. Moll |
Doctor of Management |
December 1998 |
Chairman and CEO, MTD Products Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio |
|
Charles R. Weeks |
Doctor of Management |
June 1999 |
Retired, CEO of Citizens Bank in Flint, MI |
|
Alexander C. Mair '43 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 1999 |
Retired, General Motors Vice President and Group Executive of the Technical Staffs |
|
Jo Ann Shaw |
Doctor of Management |
December 1999 |
President and CEO of The Coffee Beanery, LTD. in Flint, MI |
|
Donald J. Almquist '55 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 1999 |
Retired Chairman, President, CEO of GM Delco Electronics Corporation |
|
David Bing |
Doctor of Management |
June 2000 |
CEO, The Bing Group in Detroit, MI |
|
Stephen N. McEwen '54 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 2000 |
Retired, President and CEO, Henry Filters Inc. in Bowling Green, OH |
|
Albert J. Koegel |
Doctor of Management |
December 2000 |
CEO of Kogel Meats Inc. in Flint, MI |
|
Reverend Avery Aldridge |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 2000 |
Paster and Founder of the Foss Avenue Baptist Church, Flint, MI |
|
Charles L. Schaffer |
Doctor of Management |
June 2001 |
Retired Chief Operating Officer of UPS in Atlanta, GA |
|
Dean Kamen |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2001 |
President of DEKA and Founder of FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and Technology) |
|
Omer E. Miller '39 |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
April 2002 |
Retired Owner, Entrepreneur, Inventor, and Philanthropist, Porta-Soft Company and Co-Owner, Heather Glens and Possum Trot Golf Courses |
|
Ivan A. Deveson '59 |
Doctor of Management |
June 2002 |
Former Lord Mayor, Melbourne, Australia and Former National President, Australian Institute of Management |
|
MaliVai Washington |
Doctor of Management |
June 2002 |
Professional Athlete and ESPN Sports Analyst and Founder, MaliVali Washington Kids Foundation |
|
Edward J. Neithercut |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 2002 |
Retired, Local Flint Attorney - Neithercut Law Firm |
|
E. Stanley (Stan) O'Neal '74 |
Doctor of Management |
December 2002 |
President and CEO and Director, Merrill Lynch & Company Inc. in New York City |
|
Robert A. Lutz |
Doctor of Management |
June 2003 |
Chairman of General Motors North America and Vice Chairman of Product Development for General Motors Corporation |
|
Donald B. Chaffin '61 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2003 |
Professor of Industrial and Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor |
|
John M. Samuels '66 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 2004 |
Senior Vice President, Operations, Planning and Support, Norfolk Southern Corporation |
|
Charles L. Sargent '59 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2004 |
President, Quality Boat Lifts Inc. in Fort Myers, FL Retired, Co-Founder, President and Chairman of the Board, The Thetford Corporation, Ann Arbor, MI |
|
E. Michael Mutchler '57 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2004 |
Retired GM Vice President and Group Executive-in-Charge of GM's North American Operations & Powertrain Groups and a member of GM's North American Strategy Board |
|
Paul J. Chiapparone |
Doctor of Management |
June 2005 |
Retired, Vice Chairman of EDS (Electronic Data Systems) |
|
Karl-Heinz Kammerlohr |
Doctor of Management |
June 2005 |
Director General of International Affairs, Baden-Wuerttemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts, Stuttgart, FRG |
|
Steve Wozniak |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2005 |
Co-Founder of Apple Computer |
|
Chester A. Huber '77 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 2006 |
President of On Star Corporation |
|
L. Brooks Patterson |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 2006 |
Oakland County Executive |
|
Joseph B. Anderson |
Doctor of Management |
June 2007 |
Chairman and CEO of Tag Holding Companies in Troy, MI |
|
Congressman, Dale E. Kildee |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
December 2007 |
Congressman, Democrat, representing 5th District in the State of Michigan |
|
Gary L. Cowger '70 |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2007 |
Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations |
|
Curtis R. Carlson |
Doctor of Science |
June 2008 |
President and Chief Executive Officer, SRI International |
|
David W. Hermance '70 |
Doctor of Engineering |
June 2008 |
Executive Engineer for Advanced Technology Vehicles, Toyota Technical Center, USA |
|
Dr. Russell J. Ebeid '62 |
Doctor of Management |
July 2008 |
President, Guardian Glass Group a subsidiary of Guardian Industries Corporation |
|
Michael M. Wood |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 2009 |
Former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden and Chair, Redwood Investments, LLC |
|
Marissa T. Peterson '83 |
Doctor of Management |
July 2009 |
Retired, Executive Vice President of Sun Microsystems |
|
Henry Juszkiewicz '76 |
Doctor of Management |
December 2009 |
Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar |
|
Stanford R. Ovshinsky |
Doctor of Engineering |
December 2010 |
noted inventor and researcher |
|
Senator Carl Levin |
Doctor of Humane Letters |
June 2011 |
United States Senator |
|
List Compiled By: Susan Van Camp svancamp@kettering.edu |
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