Honorary Degrees Awarded by Drake University
Year | Name | Degree |
| 1884 | David R. Dungan | A.M. |
| 1885 | LaFayette Higgins | A.B.C.B. |
| 1888 | Calvin S. Blackwell | A.M. |
| 1889 | William F. Black | LL.D. |
| 1890 | H.O. Breeden | LL.D. |
| 1891 | B.O. Aylerworth (Pres.) | LL.D. |
| 1892 | D.W. Finlayson | LL.D. |
| 1893 | Henry Sabin | LL.D. |
| 1894 | J.H. Hardin | LL.D. |
| 1896 | Isaac N. McCash | LL.D. |
| 1898 | Edgar Odel Lovett | LL.D. |
| 1899 | J.B. Briney | LL.D. |
| 1900 | George H. Combs | LL.D. |
| 1901 | Morris E. (or Daly) Daily | LL.D. |
| 1902 | Eugene C. Sanderson | LL.D. |
| 1904 | A.B. Storms | LL.D. |
| 1905 | Julius Ceasar Martinez | LL.D. |
| 1906 | Theodore Perry Shonts | LL.D. |
| 1909 | George H. Combs | LL.D. |
| 1911 | Peter Aimalie | D.D. |
| 1912 | Cleo Madison Chilton | D.D. |
| 1916 | George W. Clarke | LL.D. |
| 1923 | Johnson Brigham | Litt. D. |
| 1924 | Edward Scribner Ames | LL.D. |
| 1925 | Laurence Marcellus Larson | LL.D. |
| 1926 | Alfred John Pearson | LL.D. |
| 1928 | Shortridge Hardesty | LL.D. |
| 1929 | John Henry Booth | D.D. |
| 1930 | Philip Fox | LL.D. |
| 1931 | Basil Deane Gauntlett | D. Mus. |
| 1932 | Merlin Hall Aylesworth | LL.D. |
| 1933 | Henry Scholte Nollen | LL.D. |
| 1934 | John W. Studebaker | LL.D. |
| 1935 | John Wycliffe Black | LL.D. & D.D. |
| 1937 | Albert William Merrill | LL.D. |
| 1938 | Wilbert Lester Carr | LL.D. |
| 1939 | Arcule Guilemette Sheasby | D. Mus. |
| 1940 | Roy Gillispie Blakey | LL.D. |
| 1942 | Gardner Cowles, Jr. | LL.D. |
| 1943 | Elmer Kelso Higdon | D.D. |
| 1944 | Newell Devin McCombs | LL.D. |
| 1945 | Earl Vincent Moore | D.F.A. |
| 1946 | Frank Harold Spedding | LL.D. |
| 1947 | Wayne Lyman Morse | LL.D. |
| 1948 | Eliel Saarinen | LL.D. |
| 1949 | Seth B. Nicholson | LL.D. |
| 1950 | Kirk Fox | LL.D. |
| 1952 | Forrest W. Seymour | LL.D. |
| 1953 | Jack Finegan | LL.D. |
| 1954 | John B. Griffing | LL.D. |
| 1955 | J. Doyle Dewitt | LL.D. |
| 1956 | Fred Bohen | LL.D. |
| 1957 | Charles W. Mayo | LL.D. |
| 1958 | Burt J. Thompson | LL.D. |
| 1959 | Samuel C. Kinchloe | D.D. |
| 1961 | Clark Raymond Mollenhoff | Litt.D. |
| 1963 | Mae Yoho Ward | D.D. |
| 1964 | Ruth Elizabeth Eckert | HH.D. |
| 1965 | Raymond Philip Morris | D.D. |
| 1966 | Howard Hanson | D.F.A. |
| 1967 | Cuthbert C. Hurd | LL.D. |
| 1968 | Howard R. Bowen | LL.D. |
| 1969 | Fred H. Harrington | LL.D. |
| 1970 | C. Lalor Burdick | LL.D. |
| 1971 | Judge Otto Kerner | LL.D. |
| 1972 | George H. Olmsted | LL.D. |
| 1973 | Kenneth MacDonald | Litt.D. |
| 1974 | Charles L. Horn | LL.D. |
| 1975 | Kenneth Jernigan | L.H.D. |
| 1976 | Archie R. Boe | LL.D. |
| 1977 | Howard L. Benshoof | Sc.D. in Ed. |
| 1978 | Samuel H. Beer | LL.D. |
| 1979 | Ernest LeRoy Boyer | LL.D. |
| 1980 | Paul F. Sharp | LL.D. |
| 1981 | Frances Bartlett Kinne | D.F.A. |
| 1982 | Maurice J. Dingman | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1983 | Fred L. Turner | LL.D. |
| 1984 | Edward P. Alexander | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1985 | James Mitchell | Doctor of Fine Arts |
| 1986 | Bayard Rustin | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1987 | William L. Brown | Sc.D. |
| 1989 | Neal E. Smith | LL.D. |
| 1990 | Madelyn L. Glazer | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1991 | Zenobia M. White | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1992 | Harold E. Hughes | LL.D. |
| 1993 | Donald C. Byers | LL.D. |
| 1994 | Martin E. Marty | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1995 | G. David Hurd | Doctor of Public Service |
| 1996 | John Chrystal | Doctor of Humane Letters |
| 1997 | Patricia Thrash | Doctor of Human Letters |
| 1998 | Johnnie Carson | Doctor of Public Service |
| 1999 | Daniel Jorndt | Doctor of Public Service |
| 2000 | Marie Wilson | Doctor of Public Service |
| 2001 | Michael Gartner | LL.D. |
| 2002 | General Wesley Clark | Doctor or Public Service |
| 2003 | Louis Lavorato | LL.D. |
| 2004 | Cushing Dolbeare | Doctor of Public Policy |
| 2005 | Roger Williams | Doctor of Music |
| 2006 | Cloris Leachman | Doctor of Fine Arts |
| 2007 | James Autry | Doctor of Humane Letters |

