Condoleezza Rice: Honorary Degree Citation

Condoleezza Rice has led distinguished careers in both public service and higher education. She first entered public service on the National Security Council staff under President George H.W. Bush. She returned to public service in the administration of President George W. Bush, serving from 2001-05 as the president’s national security adviser and from 2005-09 as the nation’s 66th Secretary of State. She was the second woman and the first African American woman to hold the post. Dr. Rice earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, a Master’s from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. After joining the Stanford University faculty in 1981, she rose through the ranks to serve as Stanford provost from 1993-99, the first woman and first African American to hold that position. Dr. Rice currently holds three positions at Stanford: professor of political economy in the Graduate School of Business, Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, and professor of political science. She also serves as chair of the Board of Advisers of the Bush Institute, part of the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the SMU campus. She has authored and co-authored several books. For her distinguished accomplishments in public service and higher education, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer upon Condoleezza Rice the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.