Call for Nominations: Honorary degree recipient and 103rd Commencement speaker

We look forward to our 103rd commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 14, 2022. The annual commencement in St. Louis is the largest gathering of graduates and families from Webster campus locations throughout the world.

An important part of commencement is the awarding of an honorary degree to a recipient who will be our commencement speaker. As in the past, we are seeking suggestions for this honor before Oct. 1, 2021. Nominations will only be accepted through the online form located at webster.edu/commencement/honorary-degree-nomination.php.

The honorary doctorate degree recognizes academic accomplishments of individuals, including alumni, as well as those who may not have had any previous association with the University.

Nomination Areas

The Honorary Degree Committee seeks nominations of individuals who have excelled in one or more of the following areas:

  • Individuals whose achievements and actions are consonant with the mission, vision and values of Webster University;
  • Individuals who are distinguished by their professional, scholarly, intellectual or creative achievement in fields of interest at Webster University;
  • Humanitarian deeds and the degree to which the candidate’s activities have exhibited substantial and sustained efforts and whose work has touched various lives;
  • Individuals who can connect with graduates and speak to them regarding issues that will impact them now and in the future

How To Nominate

Fill out the online nomination form
at
webster.edu/commencement/ honorary-degree-nomination.php, providing the reason you believe these individuals merit an honorary degree from Webster University.

Confidentiality is crucial to the nomination process.

Please note that all nominations must be confidential, without notice to the nominee, in order to protect privacy
and respect the nominee. This applies until the process has concluded. Official notification of the University’s wish to confer an honorary degree upon an individual is made by the President on behalf of the Honorary Degree Advisory Committee and the Board of Trustees.

Please submit nominations by Oct. 1, 2021. Self-nominations will not be considered.

Commencement speakers

Past Recipients

  • Philanthropist, six-time Olympic medalist and world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee
  • Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush
  • Holocaust survivor and writer Simon Wiesenthal
  • Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and peace activist Koko Tonimoto Kondo 
  • President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Michael P. McMillan
  • Scientist and leader for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Will D. Carpenter
  • St. Louis-born actress, singer, community activist, and Webster University alumna Jenifer Lewis (BA Theatre Arts, 1979) 
  • Two-time Tony award-winning Webster alum Norbert Leo Butz (BFA Theatre Arts, 1990)
  • 10th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and second highest ranking officer in the United States Gen. Paul Selva 
  • Award-winning television and stage actress, producer, and writer, as well as a four-time U.S. champion Paralympic runner Webster alumna Katy Sullivan (BFA Theatre Arts, 2002)
  • Managing partner of Edward Jones Investments Jim Weddle
  • Aerospace neuroscientist and Webster Vienna alumnus Vladimir Ivkovic (BA Psychology, 1999)

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