Past Recipients
DECEMBER 2023
Frederick James Angulo, DVM, Ph.D.
Lead, Scientific Affairs, Tick-Borne and Enteric Diseases, Pfizer Vaccines
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Randall Stuart Kline
Founder, SFJazz
College of Arts and Sciences
MAY 2023
Most Reverend Borys Gudziak
Metropolitan for Ukrainian Catholics in the United States, Archbishop of Philadelphia
Undergraduate Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Tom Killion
Artist, Printmaker and Fine Book Printer
Undergraduate Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
The Honorable Lucy Haeran Koh
U.S. Circuit Judge
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
School of Law
L. Frank Manriquez
Tongva Elder, Artist and Educator
School of Education
Michele A. Roberts
Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association (RTD)
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
Weijian Shan, PhD
Executive Chairman, PAG
Undergraduate Professional and Graduate Programs
School of Management
DECEMBER 2022
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
Immediate Past President and CEO, TIAA
School of Management
Dana James King
Sculptor
College of Arts and Sciences
Ricardo F. Muñoz, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology, Palo Alto University and Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco
School of Nursing and Health Professions
MAY 2022
The Honorable Patricia Montes Barron
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Military Community and Family Policy
Department of Defense
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Arlene Blum, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Green Society Policy Institute
Undergraduate Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Russell M. Jeung, Ph.D.
Professor, Asian American Studies,
San Francisco State University
And Co-founder, Stop AAPI Hate
School of Education
William McKibben
Schumann Distinguished Scholar in
Environmental Studies, Middlebury College
Graduate Programs
College of Arts and Sciences
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
First Partner of California and
Founder, The Representation Project
Undergraduate Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Lip-Bu Tan
Executive Chairman, Cadence Design Systems
Chairman, Walden International
Undergraduate Professional and Graduate Programs
School of Management
Irma e. Velasquez
Educator and Author
Chairman, Walden International
Undergraduate Programs
School of Management
DECEMBER 2019
Sheryl Evans Davis
Executive Director
San Francisco Human Rights Commission
School of Management and School of Education
MAY 2019
Fedele R. Bauccio
CEO and Cofounder
Bon Appétit Management Company
Undergraduate Professional Programs and Graduate Programs
School of Management
The Honorable Nadine Burke Harris, MD, MPH
Surgeon General
State of California
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Nínive Clements Calegari
Educator
Chief Executive Officer
Enterprise for Youth
School of Education
Frances Moore Lappé
Author and Cofounder of Small Planet Institute
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Doniece Sandoval
Founder and CEO, Lava Mae
Undergraduate Students, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Helen Zia
Author and Activist
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
DECEMBER 2018
Renel Brooks-Moon
Public Address Announcer, Broadcast Personality, Community Ambassador
San Francisco Giants
College of Arts and Sciences
Kimberly Bryant
Founder and CEO
Black Girls Code
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
MAY 2018
Arthur J. Ammann, M.D.
Founder, Global Strategies
Clinical Professor Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Charles M. Collins
President and Chief Executive Officer, YMCA of San Francisco
Undergraduate Professional Programs and Graduate Programs
School of Management
The Honorable Martin J. Jenkins
Alumnus and Trustee Emeritus, University of San Francisco
Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal
School of Law
Michele Norris
Founding Director, The Race Card Project
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
Melba Pattillo Beals, EdD
Alumna, University of San Francisco
Member of the Little Rock Nine, Civil Rights Pioneer, Accomplished Journalist, Author and Educator
Undergraduate Students, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Sisters of Mercy
School of Nursing and Health Professions
DECEMBER 2017
Warren T. Weber, Ph.D.
Pioneering Organic Farmer
School of Management
MAY 2017
Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA
Founder and CEO Bayou Clinic, Inc., 18th U.S. Surgeon General
Undergraduate Programs
School of Management
Mark W. Buell
President, San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission
Undergraduate Professional Programs and Graduate Programs
School of Management
Karl W. Eikenberry
Ambassador and Lieutenant General, Retired, U.S. Army
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Rev. Jon D. Fuller, S.J., M. Div., Th. M., M.D.
Attending Physician, Center for Infectious Diseases, Boston Medical Center
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy
Bishop of San Diego
School of Education
Maureen Orth
Journalist, Founder Marina Orth Foundation
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
Carey Perloff
Artistic Director, American Conservatory Theater
Undergraduate Students, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
MAY 2016
The Honorable Edward M. Chen
United States District Judge
Northern District of California
School of Law
Regina Gayle Jackson
President and CEO
East Oakland Youth Development Center
Undergraduate Students, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Carl William Nolte
Reporter and Columnist
San Francisco Chronicle
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Olga Castillo Talamante
Executive Director
Chicana Latina Foundation
School of Education
Tobias Wolff
Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor in the Humanities (Emeritus)
Stanford University
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
MARCH 2016
Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (Ret.)Swig Program In Jewish Studies and Social Justice Honorary Degree Ceremony
DECEMBER 2015
John L. Hennessy
President, Stanford University
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
Janice Mirikitani
Poet and Founding President, Glide Foundation
College of Arts and Sciences
MAY 2015
James Bell
Founder, Executive Director, and Board President
The W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness & Equity
School of Law
Larry Brilliant, M.D., M.P.H.
Senior Advisor, Jeff Skoll Group
Founding President and CEO, Skoll Global Threats Fund
Undergraduate Programs
School of Management
Cheryl L. Dorsey, M.P.P., M.D.
President, Echoing Green
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D.
Founder & Chair, Mission Blue
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
The Most Reverend Patrick J. McGrath, JCD
Bishop, Diocese of San Jose
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Charles Phan
Owner/Executive Chef, The Slanted Door
Undergraduate Professional Programs and Graduate Programs
School of Management
Jennifer Turpin
Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of San Francisco
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences
Rev. Gerald T. Wade, S.J.
Chancellor, Bellarmine College Preparatory
School of Education
DECEMBER 2014
Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis
Former Prime Minister of Haiti
President, Fondation Connaissance & Liberté-FOKAL
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
Charles M. Geschke
USF Chair Emeritus
Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, Adobe Systems, Inc.
McLaren School of Management
Danny L. Glover
Actor and Activist
College of Arts and Sciences
MAY 2014
Claudio M. Chiuchiarelli
Managing Partner, Banyan Securities Company
Chair Emeritus, USF Board of Trustees
Undergraduate Students, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
McLaren School of Management Ceremony
Sandy Close
Executive Editor and Director, New America Media/Pacific News Service
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
Carl A. Grant
Hoefs-Bascom Professor of Teacher Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
School of Education
Joseph Mandato, DM
Managing Director, De Novo Ventures
Masagung Graduate School of Management
The Honorable Norman Y. Mineta
14th United States Secretary of Transportation; Founder, Mineta Transportation Institute
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
The Honorable John V. Roos
Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan
School of Law
DECEMBER 2013
Martha Ryan
Founder and Executive Director, Homeless Prenatal Program
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
Eileen Purcell
Coordinator, Central American Refugee Organizing Project
School of Management
MAY 2013
Stephen E. Blaire
Bishop of Stockton
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
The Honorable Saundra Brown Armstrong
Senior District Judge, U.S. District Court
Northern District of California
School of Law
Franciscan Friars in San Francisco
Undergraduate Students, Business Administration
McLaren School of Management
Barbara A. Garcia
Director of Health, San Francisco Department of Public Health
School of Nursing and Health Professions
Stephen S. Pearce, Ph.D.
Senior Rabbi, Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Margaret Trost
Founder, What If? Foundation
Masagung Graduate School of Management
Gary White
CEO and Co-Founder, Water.org
Undergraduate Students, Arts and Social Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
DECEMBER 2012
Mario Joseph
Managing Attorney,Bureau des Avocats Internationaux
College of Arts and Sciences
Jetsun Pema
Former President, Tibetan Children's Villages
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
SEPTEMBER 2012
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
1991 Nobel Peace Laureate
Chairperson of the National League for Democracy Bureau, Burma
Honorary Degree Ceremony
MAY 2012
Kenneth Francis Hackett
Past President, Catholic Relief Services
Undergraduate Students, McLaren School of Management
Ralf David Hotchkiss
Co-Founder and Chief Engineer, Whirlwind Wheelchair International
School of Nursing and Health Professions
The Honorable Goodwin Hon Liu
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California
School of Law
Hollister K. Petraeus
Assistant Director for Servicemember Affairs, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
Rev. Michael J. Sheeran, S.J., Ph.D.
President, Regis University
Masagung Graduate School of Management
DECEMBER 2011
Clarence Benjamin Jones, Sr.
Scholar/Writer in Residence, The Martin Luther King, Jr.
Research and Education institute, Stanford University
College of Arts and Sciences
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Health and Illness at Commonweal
School of Education and School of Nursing and Health Professions
Dominic A. Tarantino
Chairman Emeritus, Board of Trustees, University of San Francisco
Chairman (retired), Price Waterhouse World Firm Ltd.
School of Management
MAY 2011
Marjorie Balazs
Founder & CEO, Balazs Analytical
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
Isabel Castillo
DREAM Act Advocate
Undergraduate Students, Arts, Architecture, Performing Arts and Social Sciences
Carmen Maria Cervantes
Director, Instituto Fe y Vida
School of Education
Joseph W. Cotchett
Attorney, Cotchett Pitre Simon & McCarthy, LLP
Undergraduate Students, Bachelors of Science in Business Administration
School of Management
Honorable Ming W. Chin
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California
School of Law
Rev. Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J.
President, Ateneo de Manila University
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Youth of Egypt who Participated in the January 25, 2011 Revolution
Accepted by: Mahmoud Salem
School of Nursing
December 2010
Catholic Women Religious in the United States
College of Arts and Sciences
Sr. Cathryn deBack, O.P.
Founder of the Family School and Resident Manager of Rose Court
School of Education and School of Nursing
May 2010
Lloyd H. Dean
President & CEO, Catholic Healthcare West
School of Education and School of Nursing
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
President, University of Notre Dame
Graduate Students, College of Arts and Sciences
Dale Minami
Partner, Minami Tamaki LLP and Co-Founder, Asian Law Caucus
School of Law
Rev. Joseph B. Philippe, C.S.Sp.
Founder, Fonkoze
Undergraduate Students, College of Business and Professional Studies
Jane M. Wales
President & CEO, World Affairs Council of Northern California
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
James L. Wiser
Provost and Academic Vice President, University of San Francisco
Undergraduate Students, Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences
December 2009
Francisco Jiménez
Author and Fay Boyle Professor
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Santa Clara University
College of Arts and Sciences
Sr. Janet Vera Harris, P.B.V.M.
Juvenile Justice Advocate
School of Education and School of Nursing
Craig Newmark
Founder, Craigslist
School of Business and Professional Studies
September 2009
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Founding President, Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights
Former Prime Minister of Norway
Mass of the Holy Spirit
May 2009
Robert A. Corrigan
President, San Francisco State University
School of Education and School of Nursing
Bishop Kevin Dowling, C.S.s.R.
Diocese of Rustenburg, South Africa
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
Marian Wright Edelman
Founder and President, Children’s Defense Fund
School of Law
Heather Fong
San Francisco Chief of Police
College of Professional Studies
Daniel L. Schutte
Liturgical Musician and Composer
Undergraduate Students, Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences
James D. Sinegal
President and Chief Executive Officer, Costco
McLaren College of Business
December 2008
The Very Reverend Alan Jones
Dean, Grace Cathedral
Undergraduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences,
School of Nursing, and McLaren College of Business
General Antonio Mario Taguba
Major General, United States Army (Ret.)
Graduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences,
Masagung Graduate School of Management,
School of Nursing, and School of Education
Dr. Joseph E. Marshall, Jr.
Executive Director, Omega Boys Club
College of Professional Studies
Mary McAlesse
President of Ireland
Honorary Degree Ceremony
September 2008
Greg Mortenson
Executive Director, Central Asia Institute
Author,Three Cups of Tea
Mass of the Holy Spirit
May 2008
Mark R. Dybul, M.D.
Ambassador, United States Global AIDS Coordinator
Undergraduate Students, Humanities and Sciences
Paul L. Locatelli, S.J.
President, Santa Clara University
Undergraduate Students, Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences
John Wood
Founder and CEO, Room to Read
McLaren College of Business
Kevin Starr
University Professor and Professor of History, University of Southern California
California State Librarian Emeritus
Graduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences
and Masagung Graduate School of Management
Charlotte Mailliard Shultz
Chief of Protocol, State of California
College of Professional Studies
Bryan A. Stevenson
Founder and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama
School of Law
December 2007
Rev. Gerald McKevitt, S.J.
Professor of History, Santa Clara University
Undergraduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, and McLaren College of Business
Burmese Buddhist Monks, Burma
Graduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences,
Masagung Graduate School of Management, School of Nursing,
and School of Education
Reverend Glenda Hope
Executive Director, San Francisco Network Ministries
College of Professional Studies
May 2007
Most Rev. George Niederauer
Archbishop of San Francisco
Undergraduate Students of Humanities and Sciences
Tommie Lindsey
Forensics Coach, James Logan High School
Undergraduate Students of Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences
George Sarlo
Venture Capitalist/Philanthropist
Graduate Students, College of Arts & Sciences
and Masagung Graduate School of Management
Msgr. Gregory T. Schaffer
San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala
School of Education and School of Nursing
Leo T. McCarthy,Posthumously
McLaren College of Business
Rita Semel
Executive Vice Chair, San Francisco Interfaith Council
College of Professional Studies
Mary Kerry Kennedy
International Human Rights Activist and Author
School of Law
December 2006
Roselyn Chorman Swig
Fine Arts Consultant, Philantropist and Civic Leader
Undergraduate Students of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing and McLaren College of Business
September 2006
Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste
Pastor, St. Claire’s Catholic Parish, Haiti
Mass of the Holy Spirit
May 2006
Class of 1951 Football Team
Undergraduate Students of Humanities and Sciences
Michael Tilson Thomas
Music Director, San Francisco Symphony
Undergraduate Students of Visual & Performing Arts and Social Sciences
Richard C. Blum
Chairman of the Board, The American Himalayan Foundation
McLaren College of Business
Gloria Duffy
CEO, The Commonwealth Club of California
Graduate Students of College of Arts & Sciences
and Masagung Graduate School of Management
Alice B. Hayes
Educator and Former President, University of San Diego
School of Education and School of Nursing
Claudia Smith
Executive Director, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
School of Law
December 2005
The Right Reverend William E. Swing
Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of California
Undergraduate Students of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing,
McLaren College of Business
May 2005
Terry L. Karl
Professor of Political Sciences, Stanford University
Undergraduate Students of Humanities and Sciences
Harry S. Parker, III
Director of Museums, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Undergraduate Students of Performing Arts and Social Sciences
Alfonso Yuchengco
Chairman, Yuchengco Group of Companies
Undergraduate Students of McLaren College of Business
BJ Cassin
Chairman and President, Cassin Educational Initiative Foundation
College of Professional Studies
Bernard and Barbro Osher
Bernard Osher Foundation
School of Education and School of Nursing
Shirin Ebadi
2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Human Rights Activist
Justice Peace Lecture
April 2005
Kim Dae-Jung
Former President of South Korea
Center for the Pacific Rim
November 2004
Gloria M. Arroyo
President, Republic of the Philippines
University Convocation
May 2004
The Honorable George S. McGovern
United States Senator, 1963 - 1981
College of Professional Studies
Oral Lee Brown
CEO, Oral Lee Brown Foundation
School of Education
Rev. Monsignor Richard Albert
Catholic Priest
Undergraduate Students of Performing Arts and Social Sciences
Robert M. Holstein, Posthumously
Attorney at Law
Undergraduate Students of Humanities and Sciences
September 2003
His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama
Tibet Religious Leader
Interfaith Prayer Service
May 2003
Stephen Bantu Biko, Posthumously
Steve Biko Foundation, South Africa
Undergraduate Students of College of Arts & Sciences
December 2002
Herman Gallegos
Author, activist, consultant, and a community organizer
College of Professional Studies
Ann Marie Mongoven, O.P.
Professor Emerita, Religious Studies, Santa Clara University
School of Business & Management and School of Education
May 2002
Andrew Greeley
A priest, a sociologist, a novelist, and a journalist
Graduate Students of College of Arts & Sciences
and School of Business & Management
Pedro Noguera
Dimon Professor of Urban Education, Harvard University
School of Education
Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J.
Director, Jobs for a Future and Homeboy Industries
Undergraduate Students of School of Business and Management
Deborah Tannen
University Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University
Undergraduate Students of College of Arts and Sciences
December 2001
Rev. Anthony Sauer, S.J.
President, St. Ignatius High School
School of Business and Management
May 2001
Fred Korematsu
Civil Rights Activist
School of Law
Sr. Patrick Curran, R.S.M.
Executive Director, St. Anthony’s Foundation
School of Nursing
Most Reverend Macram Max Gassis
Bishop, Diocese of El Obeid
Graduate Students of College of Arts & Sciences
and School of Business & Management
Tim Russert
Moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press”
Undergraduate Students College of Arts & Sciences
Cloé Madanes
Director, Family Therapy Institute, Washington, DC
School of Education
December 2000
Hazel Henderson
Independent futurist, syndicated columnist
School of Business & Management
See the list of Past Recipients (1905-2000)