Honorary degrees

Opal Lee is a retired educator and children’s counselor whose activism helped establish June 19 or “Juneteenth” as a federal holiday recognizing the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.

Known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Lee was born in Marshall, Texas, in 1926. At age 12 – on June 19, 1939 – her family’s
Fort Worth home was destroyed by a racist mob. This event set in motion Lee’s advocacy on behalf of Black Americans, culminating in a symbolic walking campaign at age 89 from Fort Worth to Washington, D.C. to convince lawmakers to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday. She has served with several boards and organizations, including Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity (CCHD), Habitat for Humanity, and the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the Fort Worth Black populace. As chairman of the Community Food Bank, she secured a $1.3 million facility which now aids 500 families daily.

Lee currently serves on the board of Unity Unlimited, Inc., Transform 1012 N. Main Street, and is also a board member and honorary chair of the National Juneteenth Museum. She has received seven honorary doctorates, has been named 2021 Texan of the Year by The Dallas Morning News, the 2021 Unsung Hero of the Pandemic, Fort Worth Inc.’s 2022 Person of the Year, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2023, she became the second African American to have her portrait hung in the Texas State Senate. In May 2024, the White House announced her as one of 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Lee received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Wiley College and her master’s in counseling from the University of North Texas.

For her dedication to promoting the importance of Juneteenth, SMU is honored to confer the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Holocaust survivor and upstander Max Glauben is recognized across Texas and the nation as a passionate advocate for Holocaust and human rights education, and as a model of hope and resilience. For decades, he has shared his eyewitness account of the Holocaust around the world.

As a teenager, Mr. Glauben was imprisoned at the Warsaw ghetto and five concentration camps from 1939-45, and lost his entire immediate family during that time. On April 23, 1945, United States Gen. George Patton's Third Army liberated Mr. Glauben and other prisoners on a death march to Dachau concentration camp. Mr. Glauben immigrated to the U.S. in 1947, eventually serving in the U.S. Army.

 

For 14 years Mr. Glauben has participated in the International March of the Living program, leading youth tours of European Holocaust sites. In 2019, The Dallas Morning News named him "Texan of the Year," honoring his unceasing calls to resist hate, stand up for others and strive for peace. In 2018, Mr. Glauben became a mentor for future generations by recording his story as part of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Dimensions in Testimony initiative. Now featured at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, the project features interactive high-definition holographic interviews.

Mr. Glauben's advocacy helped launch the creation of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, which began as a modest basement display in the Jewish Community Center. He remains a frequent museum speaker. Mr. Glauben also still travels across Texas for speaking engagements to students where he provides insight and life lessons to inspire future generations of upstanders.

For his exceptional and extensive work combatting intolerance and keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Max Glauben the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Preservationist Virginia Savage McAlester is best known nationally for her magisterial 1984 book, A Field Guide to American Houses, celebrated by the American Library Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the standard reference on American residential architecture across all eras and regions. Her other books include Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles; A Field Guide to America's Historic Neighborhoods and Museum Houses: The Western States; and Homes of Park Cities, Dallas: Great American Suburbs.

She has a deeply historical sense of place. Her ancestors were among Dallas' first settlers and her father was mayor of Dallas. As a young woman, she became concerned about the material and spiritual loss of established communities as Dallas pushed north. McAlester was a founder of the Historic Preservation League, now Preservation Dallas. It has helped designate and sustain more than 4,000 local landmarks. It is a model adopted by many cities for historic preservation.

In 1984, she created the advocacy group Friends of Fair Park, which successfully petitioned to protect and preserve the permanent buildings in Fair Park, site of the 1936 Texas Centennial, now home to the State Fair of Texas and a broad range of museums and cultural venues. Her many awards include receiving a key to the city of Dallas in 2014, an AIA honorary membership and a Friends of Fair Park Spirit of the Centennial Award in 2017.

For her life of dedication to preserving our common past, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the degree of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa.

Hamdi Ulukaya is founder, chair and CEO of Chobani, one of the fastest-growing food companies in the last decade and a pioneer in the natural food movement.

Raised in a Kurdish dairy-farming family in a small village in eastern Turkey, Ulukaya launched Chobani in 2007 in the United States with the mission and vision of making better food more accessible. In less than five years, Chobani became the best-selling Greek yogurt brand in the U.S. with more than $1 billion in annual sales. He implemented a profit-sharing program in 2016 with 2000 Chobani employees in New York and Idaho.

As a humanitarian, Ulukaya founded the Tent Partnership for Refugees to mobilize the private sector to improve the lives and livelihoods of refugees around the globe. He signed its Giving Pledge and committed the majority of his personal wealth to this cause. For these efforts, he received the 2015 United Nations Foundation Global Leadership Award and was named an eminent advocate in 2016 by the United Nations Refugee Agency, among other recognitions. In 2017, TIME magazine named Ulukaya one of its 100 Most Influential People.

Ulukaya serves on the board of the Pathfinder Village and the American Turkish Council. Most recently, Ulukaya became a member of the B Team, a collective of global leaders working to inspire dialogue and business action for a fairer, greener and more human economy.

For his work as a humanitarian and as an inspiring global leader, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Barry Clark Barish, Ph.D., is Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor Emeritus of Physics at the California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on cosmic gravitational waves. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for his work in establishing the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the first observations of gravitational waves.

Barish's work at LIGO resulted in the first observation on Earth of these cosmic ripples on Sept. 14, 2015 - emanating from the collision of two black holes in the distant universe. In 1997, he established the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, an organization that unites more than 1,000 collaborators worldwide on a mission to detect gravitational waves, explore the fundamental physics of gravity, and develop gravitational-wave observations as a tool of astronomical discovery. From 2006 to 2013, Barish served as director of the Global Design Effort for the International Linear Collider.

Barish became Caltech's Linde Professor of Physics in 1991 and Linde Professor Emeritus in 2005. He earned his B.A. degree in physics and his Ph.D. in experimental physics from the University of California-Berkeley in 1957 and 1962. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Barish is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Physical Society, the latter of which he served as president.

For his groundbreaking efforts in establishing the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and for his far-seeing work in experimental physics that has forever changed humanity's view of the universe, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the Doctor of Science degree, honoris causa.

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D, has been director of the National Institutes of Health since 2009, overseeing the work of the largest institutional supporter of biomedical research in the world. But he may be best known for leading the Human Genome Project (HGP), a 13-year international effort to map and sequence the 3 billion letters in human DNA.

As an innovative evolutionary geneticist and a devout Christian, Collins also has gained fame for his writings on the integration of logic and belief.

As NIH director, he has helped launch major research initiatives to advance the use of precision medicine for more tailored healthcare, to increase our understanding of the neural networks of the brain to improve treatments for brain diseases, and to identify areas of cancer research that are most ripe for acceleration to improve cancer prevention and treatment. His personal research efforts led to the isolation of the genes responsible for cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome.

Collins received his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from Yale University, and his M.D. degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. As an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Collins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2007 from President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Science in 2009.

For his dramatic successes as a gene hunter, his support for biomedical research on a vast scale, and his leadership of one of the most significant scientific undertaking in modern history - the Human Genome Project - Collins will receive the Doctor of Science degree, honoris causa, from SMU.

Francis Halzen's contributions to the study of particle astrophysics might be compared to the influence of astronomer Galileo Galilei's 17th-century perfection of the telescope: Both enabled unprecedented closer observation of the Universe. Halzen's vision, initiative and leadership have led to the development and construction of the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory, where he is principle investigator, and where the first ultra-high-energy neutrinos were detected in 2013.

Halzen's work in particle physics detection has taken the study of neutrinos beyond the Milky Way galaxy and into deep space, leading to new understanding of astronomical phenomena including black holes, supernovas and galaxy formation.

Halzen is the Hilldale and Gregory Breit Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the director of the Institute for Particle Physics Research. He received the 2015 Giuseppe and Vanna Cocconi Prize from the European Physical Society, the 2015 Balzan Prize and the 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award. Halzen received Master's and Ph.D. degrees, as well as an agrégé de l'enseignement supérieur (a qualification for teaching in higher education) from the University of Louvain in Belgium.

For his pioneering efforts toward construction of the IceCube observatory and his extraordinary role in opening a new observational window on the universe, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Nancy A. Nasher, a business leader, lawyer and philanthropist, has dedicated her professional and personal life to the betterment of Dallas. She holds degrees from Princeton University and Duke University School of Law. As president and co-owner of NorthPark Center, a premier shopping destination noted for excellence in retail and architectural design, Ms. Nasher has seamlessly integrated art into public spaces. Her vision of public engagement with the arts as embodied in NorthPark Center, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and her contributions to local arts organizations has been transformative for Dallas, and continues through her deep support and advocacy for all facets of the Dallas arts community. She serves on the executive boards of The Dallas Opera, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Nasher Sculpture Center, and is the founder's chair of the Business Council for the Arts.

Additional board leadership positions include the Dallas Museum of Art, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Meadows School of the Arts, the National Center for Arts Research, the Dallas Mayor's Business/Arts Initiative, the University of North Texas School of Visual Arts, the Princeton University Art Museum Board of Advisors, the Duke University Board of Trustees, and Ms. Nasher is the Chair of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University Board of Visitors.

Her numerous honors include the 2017 TACA Silver Cup Award for her dedication to arts support. In 2015, Socrates Sculpture Park in New York honored Ms. Nasher for advancing the practice of sculpture. For her dedication to public engagement with the arts, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the degree Doctor of Arts, honoris causa.

E. P. Sanders, a 1962 alumnus of SMU's Perkins School of Theology, is an internationally respected New Testament scholar responsible for major contributions to studies of Jesus and the Apostle Paul and their relationships to the Judaism of their day. He is credited with prompting the re-evaluation of prejudicial views of Judaism that often characterized earlier biblical scholarship, resulting in improved Jewish-Christian relations.

Sanders is the author of 14 books and numerous monographs that have been translated into 11 languages. His monograph, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), received a National Religious Book Award, and his Jesus and Judaism (1985) won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Wesleyan University, a Bachelor of Divinity from SMU Perkins School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary.

Sanders held an endowed chair in religion at Duke University until he retired in 2005. He also held faculty positions at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and at the University of Oxford. He is a fellow of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Sanders has received honorary doctorates from the University of Oxford and the University of Helsinki.

For his contributions to biblical scholarship, the understanding of Jewish and Christian origins, and Jewish-Christian relations, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Groesbeck P. Parham has devoted his life to improving the lives of the world's poor through efforts to reduce inequalities in health care and provide opportunities to realize individual potential. He earned his B.S. from Oberlin College and M.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is professor of gynecologic oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Parham founded the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Zambia, where he lives. As a leader in combating women's cancers, he developed an innovative system for cervical cancer screening using simple household vinegar and a digital camera. This program has served more than 350,000 Zambian women and has been adopted by health care providers from South Africa to China. His work has been supported by Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, a public-private partnership to prevent cervical and breast cancer in Africa and Latin America, co-founded by the George W. Bush Institute, located on the SMU campus. SMU faculty and students have participated in numerous global health research, training and service activities in Zambia related to Dr. Parham's work. His many honors include awards from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the United Nations. For his extraordinary global efforts to improve the health of underserved women, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Groesbeck P. Parham the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Helen LaKelly Hunt, who holds three degrees from SMU, is a philanthropist dedicated to promoting women's equality and social change. She is the founder and president of The Sister Fund, which underwrites projects to empower women in social, political, economic and spiritual realms. As catalyst and head of the innovative Women Moving Millions campaign, she forges alliances with other women philanthropists who make gifts of a million dollars or more to fund large-scale women's causes. Hunt is internationally known for co-developing the Imago Relationship Therapy techniques for saving and enhancing close relationships. She helped establish several women's organizations, including the Women's Funding Network, Dallas Women's Foundation and New York Women's Foundation. She has received numerous awards for her leadership on women's issues and has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. After receiving three degrees from SMU (a B.A. in secondary education, a Master of Liberal Arts and an M.A. in counseling), she earned a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary. Her doctoral dissertation, the basis for her book Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance, focused on the religious foundations of American feminism. For her contributions to the empowerment of women and her leadership in the women's funding movement, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon alumna Helen LaKelly Hunt the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Irene Hirano Inouye has served for more than 35 years in nonprofit administration, community education and public affairs with culturally diverse groups. As president of the U.S.-Japan Council since 2009, she is dedicated to strengthening relations between the two countries through people-to-people connections. She previously served for 20 years as president and founding CEO of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum promotes understanding and appreciation of America's ethnic and cultural diversity through the experience of Japanese Americans. She also was president and CEO of the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, a museum affiliate. Earlier in her career, she served as executive director of T.H.E. (To Help Everyone) Clinic in Los Angeles, a nonprofit community health facility for low and moderate-income women and families. Her professional activities include positions as current trustee and immediate past chair of the Ford Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. She earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in public administration from the University of Southern California. For her contributions to enhanced understanding of Japanese Americans and to strengthened relations between the United States and Japan, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Irene Hirano Inouye the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Meave Leakey is the standard-bearer of a family of paleoanthropologists who have dominated the field since the beginning of the 20th century. Her field and laboratory research has established her as one of the most visible and distinguished scientists in a highly competitive profession. Her research interests focus on East African mammalian evolution over the past 30 million years, with emphasis on primate and human evolution. Having retired as head of the Department of Palaeontology at the National Museums of Kenya, Leakey is now a research associate in the museum's Palaeontology Division. She also is a research professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University in New York and director of Plio-Pleistocene research at the Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi. In 2002 she was named a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence in honor of the 50-year relationship between the National Geographic Society and the Leakey family. Leakey is the author of numerous scientific publications in prestigious journals and several monographs documenting her research in Turkana. She received a B.S. degree in zoology and marine zoology and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of North Wales. For her groundbreaking research, which has enhanced the understanding of our evolutionary past, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Meave Leakey the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Heitzenrater is recognized as the world's leading authority on John Wesley and early Methodism. His book, Wesley and the People Called Methodists , has been translated into seven languages. He served on the faculty of SMU's Perkins School of Theology for 16 years and in 2010 retired from the faculty of Duke University Divinity School. He is best known for breaking the secret code of Wesley's personal diaries, making them available to the world. For his scholarly achievements and his service to SMU, the University will confer upon Heitzenrater the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

McKnight has made historic contributions to scholarship in legal history and to law reform in Texas. He retires this year from SMU's law faculty after serving for six decades. The author of six books, he directed the Texas Family Code project, which achieved important reforms, and was principal drafter of the Texas Matrimonial Property Act, recognizing property rights of married women. For his dedicated service to SMU, his distinguished scholarship and his leadership in the legal community, the University will confer upon McKnight the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

While writing for The New York Times, Wilkerson became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in journalism and the first African-American, male or female, to win the Pulitzer for individual reporting. Her award-winning book, The Warmth of Other Suns, is a definitive history of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the rural South to urban centers in the North and West. For her achievements as a journalist and contributions to understanding of the African-American experience, SMU will confer upon Wilkerson the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.