Founders Medals & Honorary Degrees
The Founders’ Medal is awarded at commencement to the senior who has the highest grade point average for the entire college course of study at Millsaps College, and who has received a grade of Excellent on the comprehensive examinations. To be eligible for the award, students must have begun their course of study as freshmen at Millsaps College and completed the majority of the work required for the degree at Millsaps College; while credit by examination is permitted, only students with a maximum of eight earned hours (applying toward graduation requirements) of transfer credit from another domestic institution may be eligible. The following is a listing of Founders’ Medal winners, since its establishment in 1919.
Natalie Johnson and Rita Lacy
2024
Clare Howard, Anne Margaret Miller, Yuko Nogawa, and Gracie Singleton
2023
Paul Thomas, Anna Boxx, Taylor Weintritt, Newlon Gillihan, and Mary Frances Dickie
2022
Leslie Norris
2021
Reagan Michael McGuffee
2019
Noah Vincent Barbieri
2018
Brittany Susan Hardy
2017
Katie Lane Wynne Kirkland
2016
Ellen Faulk
2015
Priya Pradipkujmar Patel
2014
Taylor Brittany Scysters
2013
David Anthony Guyott
2012
Marie Louise Thomas
2011
Laura Heather Hitton
2010
Kayla Ann Richard
2009
Beth Ann Baker
2008
April Claire McGilvray Gilmore
2007
Megan Elizabeth Holcomb
2006
Ryan B. Day
2005
Kenneth Townsend and Brian Houston
2004
Hannah Page
2003
Elizabeth Bishara
2002
Peyton Hayes
2001
Melanie Schrader
2000
Suzanna Wahrle
1999
Holly Lynn Crawford
1998
Amanda O’Kelly
1997
Christina Finzel, Jennifer Irons, and Gayle Palfrey
1996
Holly Lynn Crawford
1998
Amanda O’Kelly
1997
Christina Finzel, Jennifer Irons, and Gayle Palfrey
1996
Kimberley Ann Williams
1995
Laurie Johanna Carpenter
1994
Meredith Anne Montgomery
1993
Larry Lee Montgomery
1992
Anne Elizabeth Verret and Eric Dewayne Chisolm
1991
Lisa Ann Loughman
1990
William Manley Wadsworth and Jeffrey Alan Ezell
1989
Anna Siuling Tjeng
1988
James Walton Boswell, Sheila Ann Farnsworth, Robert Joseph Mangialardi, and Timothy Michael Patterson
1987
Charles David Woods
1986
Robert Michael Buxton
1985
Terri Lee Clark
1984
Kimberly Lillian Myers
1983
Debra Ann Basham and Joseph Thomas Hamrick
1982
Judy Diane White
1981
Ann Roscopf
1980
Ellynda Louise Price
1979
William Hollis Leech
1978
Celeste Renee Brou
1977
Peggy Davis Clayton
1976
Ann Hendrick
1975
Frances Lloyd
1974
Rebecca Carol Youngblood and Reba Diamond Hale
1973
George Fleming
1972
Linda Sharon Dorsey
1971
Victoria Lynn Newcomb
1970
Mary Drane Swanson
1969
Sharon Kay Pritchett
1968
Carolyn Anne Powers
1967
Sharron Nan Monk
1966
Vera Evelyn Barron
1965
Mary Dell Fleming
1964
Nell Carleen Smith
1963
Mary Carole Robison
1962
Irene Elizabeth Fridge
1961
Sarah Margaret Yarbrough
1960
William Dwyer Balgord
1959
John H. Stone, III
1958
Samuel L. Jones, Jr.
1957
Clara Parks Booth
1956
Helen Fay Head
1955
Norma Busse
1954
Irby Turner, Jr.
1953
Gaston Hall
1952
Oliver Burford
1951
Shirley Jean Norwood
1950
George Maddox
1949
Charles Cale Lehman
1948
Winnifred Seegers
1945
Clara Porter Cavett
1944
Janice Trimble
1943
Richard Lauderdale
1942
Gwin Kolb
1941
Dolores Dye
1940
Robert A. Ivy
1939
J.D. Smith
1938
Eunice Louise Durham
1937
H.V. Allen
1936
Helen Hargrave Cabell
1935
John T. Kimball
1934
Robert Hough
1933
Mary Wacaster
1932
K.F. Hill
1931
Bessie Cook
1930
Mary Flowers Jackson
1929
V.L. Wharton
1928
Merrill C. Stapp
1927
Margaret Stewart Power
1926
Mary Davenport
1925
H.H. Knoblock
1924
W.S. Phillips
1923
Frederick J. Lotterhos
1922
Willie Spann
1921
L.B. Roberts
1920
Dewey S. Dearman
1919
Honorary Degrees
In a tradition starting at the 1917 Commencement Ceremony, Millsaps College confers honorary degrees upon individuals who have been influential in their respective fields or have made significant contributions to society.
2017-18
- Dr. Gordon Edgar Brown Jr. – Doctor of Science
- Richard Ford – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Dr. John M. Perkins – Doctor of Public Service
2016-17
- Joanne Edgar – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Roberta Kaplan – Doctor of Laws
- Ray Mabus – Doctor of Public Service
2015-16
- The Rev. David McIntosh Sr. – Doctor of Divinity
- Jerry Mitchell – Doctor of Public Service
2014-15
- Rev. Janet Sanderson Ott – Doctor of Public Service
- Rev. Luther Ott – Doctor of Public Service
- Jack Reed Sr. – Doctor of Public Service
- Natasha Trethewey – Doctor of Humane Letters
2013-14
- Roger Mudd – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Lovett H. Weems Jr. – Doctor of Divinity
- Elise Varner Winter – Doctor of Public Service
2012-13
- The Rev. R. Edwin King – Doctor of Divinity
- Dr. Aaron Shirley – Doctor of Public Service
- Ms. Seetha Srinivasan – Doctor of Humane Letters
2011-12
- Robert Parker Adams
- Judge Neal Brooks Biggers Jr.
- Elaine Gradinger Crystal
- Charles L. Overby
- Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
2010-11
- Rodney J. Bartlett – Doctor of Science
- Robert H. Dunlap – Doctor of Public Service
- Larry M. Goodpaster – Doctor of Divinity
- Richard C. Miller – Doctor of Science
- Leontyne Price – Doctor of Arts
2009-10
- Fred Banks, Jr. – Doctor of Laws
- Christy Gilliland Dunaway – Doctor of Public Service
- Rt. Rev. Duncan Gray, Jr. – Doctor of Divinity
- Sister Mary Dorothea Sondgeroth – Doctor of Public Service
2008-09
- Marian Wright Edelman – Doctor of Public Service
- Charles Thomas Fingar – Doctor of Public Service
- Hugh Gaston Hall – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Rowan Hurt Taylor – Doctor of Public Service
2007-08
- Martha Bergmark – Doctor of Public Service
- Greg Iles – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Leslie B. McLemore – Doctor of Public Service
- John Stone – Doctor of Humane Letters
2006-07
- Helen B. Barnes, M.D. – Doctor of Science
- John D. Bower, M.D. – Doctor of Public Service
- The Reverend Ross Olivier – Doctor of Public Service
- Joe Frank Sanderson, Jr. – Doctor of Laws
2005-06
- Randall Pinkston – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Satnam L. Sethi – Doctor of Laws
- Rev. Keith Tonkel – Doctor of Divinity
- Leila Clark Wynn – Doctor of Public Service
2004-05
- Thad Cochran – Doctor of Laws
- Milton Babbitt – Doctor of Arts
- Howard L. McMillan, Jr. – Doctor of Laws
- Kathryn Loeb Wiener – Doctor of Public Service
2003-04
- John N. Palmer – Doctor of Laws
- Wallace Conerly – Doctor of Science
- Bishop Kenneth Carder – Doctor of Divinity
- Hugh B. Landrum Jr. – Doctor of Laws
- Myrlie Evers-Williams – Doctor of Public Service
2002-03
- James Barksdale – Doctor of Laws
- Sally McDonnell Barksdale – Doctor of Public Service
- Turner Cassity – Doctor of Humane Letters
2001-02
- Rev. Will Davis Campbell – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Justice James E. Graves, Jr. – Doctor of Laws
- Chief Phillip Martin – Doctor of Laws
- Cassandra Wilson – Doctor of Arts
2000-01
- Reuben V. Anderson – Doctor of Laws
- Corinne Claiborne ALindy@ Boggs – Doctor of Laws
- Warren Eugene Pittman – Doctor of Divinity
- Cokie Roberts – Doctor of Humane Letters
1999-2000
- Edward L. Moyers – Doctor of Laws
- Samuel Jones – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Paul Piper, Sr. – Doctor of Laws
- Marshall L. Meadors – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Jean C. Lindsey – Doctor of Humane Letters (Posthumously)
1998-99
- William R. Ferris – Doctor of Humane Letters
- John Hope Franklin – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Mary D. Garrard – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Mundell Lowe – Doctor of Arts
1997-98
- Hodding Carter III – Doctor of Humane Letters
- George M. Miller – Doctor of Laws
- James Daniel Hardy – Doctor of Science
1996-97
- Robert W. Pittman – Doctor of Arts
- Roland L. Freeman – Doctor of Humane Letters
1995-96
- Arthur C. Guyton – Doctor of Science
- Stuart C. Irby, Jr. – Doctor of Letters
- Frank H. T. Rhodes – Doctor of Science
1994-95
- Charles Bertram Felder – Doctor of Divinity
- Elizabeth Becker Henley – Doctor of Letters
- Jeremiah Henry Holleman, Sr. – Doctor of Science
- William J. Raspberry – Doctor of Humane Letters
1993-94
- Donald E. Petersen – Doctor of Laws
- Mary Ann McDonald Swenson – Doctor of Divinity
1992-93
- Margaret Walker Alexander – Doctor of Letters
- James Boyd Campbell – Doctor of Public Service (Posthumous)
- John L. Clendenin – Doctor of Laws
- Shelby Foote – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Leslie B. Lampton – Doctor of Science
1991-92
- Robert C. Morgan – Doctor of Divinity
- Elizabeth Fox-Genovese – Doctor of Letters
- Merrill Odom Hines – Doctor of Sciences
1990-91
- Robert H. Atwell – Doctor of Laws
- Gwin J. Kolb – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Hyman F. McCarty, Jr. – Doctor of Laws
- Richard D. McRae – Doctor of Public Service
1989-90
- Charlotte Capers – Doctor of Letters
- Thalia Mara – Doctor of Arts
- Robert A. Mosbacher – Doctor of Laws
- George B. Pickett – Doctor of Public Service
- Richard H. Truly – Doctor of Science
1988-89
- Joseph W. Carroll – Doctor of Divinity
- John W. Chandler – Doctor of Laws
- LeRoy Percy – Doctor of Letters
- Sister Josephine Therese – Doctor of Humane Letters
1987-88
- Betty Werlein Carter – Doctor of Humane Letters
- Charles W. Else – Doctor of Laws
- Eloise T. Else – Doctor of Letters
- William R. Hendee – Doctor of Science
- James T. Laney, Jr. – Doctor of Humane Letters
1986-87
- William F. Appleby – Doctor of Divinity
- Robert N. Fortenberry – Doctor of Laws
- Ellen Gilchrist – Doctor of Letters
- Richard F. Rosser – Doctor of Laws
1985-86
- Alan J. Pifer – Doctor of Laws
1984-85
- Ellen Douglas Doctor of Humane Letters
- Garland H. Holloman – Doctor of Divinity
1983-84
- Doctor of Science – George L. Maddox, Jr.
- Doctor of Divinity – James Maxwell Miller
- Doctor of Letters – Mrs. E. H. Sumners
- Doctor of Laws – Warren A. HooDoctor of Divinity – Clay F. Lee
1982-83
- Doctor of Letters – Cleanth Brooks
- D.M. – Willard Palmer
- Doctor of Laws – William Winter
1981-82
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Paul Baddour
- Doctor of Commerce – Jesse Brent
- Doctor of Laws – C. R. Ridgway
- Doctor of Science – R.E. Williams
1980-81
- Doctor of Divinity – Bishop Carlton P. Minnick
1979-80
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Robert Ezelle
- Doctor of Laws – John H. Bryan
1978-79
- Doctor of Laws – James Herman Hines
- Doctor of Divinity – Jim Leggett Waits
1976-77
- Doctor of Laws – Ray Marshall
- Doctor of Divinity – Joel Duncan McDavid
1975-76
- Doctor of Humane Letters – David Herbert Donald
- Doctor of Divinity – Homer Ellis Finger, Jr.
- Doctor of Laws – Otis Arnold Singletary, Jr.
- Doctor of Laws – Louis Hugh Wilson, Jr.
1973-74
- Doctor of Laws – James Sharbrough Ferguson
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Paul Ramsey
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Patricia O’Brien Smylie
- Doctor of Divinity – Mack Boyd Stokes
1971-72
- Doctor of Laws – Edward Hunter Bacot
- Doctor of Laws – Nathaniel Sims Rogers
1970-71
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Lehman Engel
1968-69
- Doctor of Laws – Edward Julian Pendergrass
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Eudora Alice Welty
1967-68
- Doctor of Laws – Robert Mason Stricker Mason Stricker
1961-62
- Doctor of Divinity – Roy Clyde Clark
- Doctor of Divinity – William Maren Jones
- Doctor of Laws – Roy Herbert Black
- Doctor of Laws – Robert Murrah Mayo
1959-60
- Doctor of Divinity – Thomas Orien Prewitt
- Doctor of Divinity – George Richard Williams
- Doctor of Laws – John Fontaine Egger
- Doctor of Laws – Robert Raymond Haynes
1958-59
- Doctor of Divinity – Richard Leonard Cooke
- Doctor of Divinity – John David Humphrey
- Doctor of Laws – William Fitzhugh Murrah
- Doctor of Laws – William Bryan Selah
1957-58
- Doctor of Divinity – George Eliot Jones
- Doctor of Divinity – Wiley Clifford Newman
- Doctor of Laws – James Milton Ewing
- Doctor of Laws – Virgil Derender Youngblood
1956-57
- Doctor of Divinity – Clyde Hubert Gunn
- Doctor of Divinity – Felix Asa Sutphin
- Doctor of Laws – William Barnett Dribben
- Doctor of Laws – John Cornelius Stennis
1955-56
- Doctor of Divinity – James Dudley Slay
- Doctor of Divinity – Rufus Garrison Moore
- Doctor of Humane Letters – Albert Godfrey Sanders
- Doctor of Laws – Frederick Brougher Smith
- H.H.D. – Alvin Jon King
1954-55
- Doctor of Divinity – Samuel Edward Ashmore
- Doctor of Divinity – Osmond Summers Lewis
- Doctor of Laws – Benjamin McClellan Stevens
- Doctor of Laws – Edmund Taylor
1953-54
- Doctor of Divinity – William Robert Lott
- Doctor of Divinity – Martin Luther McCormick
- Doctor of Laws – Richard Malcolm Guess
- Doctor of Laws – James Oliver Emmerich
1952-53
- Doctor of Divinity – George Hawkins Jones
- Doctor of Divinity – William Lawson Robinson
- Doctor of Laws – Alexander Boyd Campbell
1951-52
- Doctor of Divinity – William Jefferson Cunningham
- Doctor of Laws – Bishop Marvin A. Franklin
- Doctor of Laws – J. P. Stafford
1950-51
- Doctor of Divinity – John Willard Leggett, Jr.
- Doctor of Divinity – Richard Guy Lord
- Doctor of Laws – Rex Ivan Brown
- Doctor of Laws – Robert Lenoir Ezelle
1947-48
- Doctor of Science – George Lott Harrell
1944-45
- Doctor of Laws – Hugh Clegg
1943-44
- Doctor of Letters – Roy L. Smith
1937-38
- Doctor of Laws – Sara Frances Sale
- Doctor of Letters – Martha Catching Enochs
- Doctor of Divinity – Lovick Pinckney Wasson
- Doctor of Divinity – Robert Timmons Henry
1936-37
- Doctor of Divinity – Edgar Lafayette Hillman
- Doctor of Laws – George Leslie Morelock
1934-35
- Doctor of Divinity – William Nathaniel Thomas
1933-34
- Doctor of Letters – A. A. Kern
- Doctor of Divinity – W. L. Duren
1928-29
- Doctor of Divinity – Nolan Bailey Harmon, Jr.
- Doctor of Laws – B.B. Jones
1927-28
- Doctor of Divinity – John Lloyd Decell
- Doctor of Divinity – R.H. Tucker
1926-27
- Doctor of Divinity – C.A. Bowen
- Doctor of Letters – George W. Huddleston
1923-24
- Doctor of Divinity – Gypsy Smith, Jr.
1922-23
- Doctor of Laws – Barney Edward Eaton
1920-21
- Doctor of Divinity – Henry Thompson Carley
- Doctor of Divinity – John Richard Countiss
- Doctor of Divinity – Charles William Crisler