IN THIS SECTION
The Gallery of Distinction members embody the spirit of The Northwood Idea and our mission of developing the future leaders of a global, free-enterprise society. Throughout the years, our honorees have shown Northwood tremendous support both philanthropically and academically.
The honorary doctorate is the highest award a university can make to an individual who has contributed to society in a meaningful way. Through their accomplishments, ideals, and support, our communities have become better places and our nation has benefited. These leaders have won recognition in business, their professions, fine arts, education, and religion. Their involvement in the thrust of The Northwood Idea will continue forever. In observance of one of Northwood’s finest traditions, all recipients of honorary degrees are presented with personal academic regalia. Every year they are invited back to participate in the commencement processional, enjoy social events, and renew old friendships. Northwood University salutes all the members of the Gallery of Distinction and pledges to them the dedicated continuation of The Northwood Idea into the 21st century.
Gallery of Distinction Archives
2022
Betsy DeVos – Grand Rapids, MI
Alan Jay Wildstein – Sebring, FL
2021
Graham Williams – Bloomfield Hills, MI
2020
Robert Chitester (deceased)
2019 – Winter
Hon. Peter MacKay – Toronto, Ontario
2019
Richard (Rick) B. Guirlinger – Raleigh, NC
John Venhuizen – Oak Brook, IL
2019 Bay Harbor
Keith A. Pretty, J.D. – Midland, MI
2018 – Winter
Jim Fitterling – Midland, MI
2018
Kevin Fegan – Dallas, TX
Richard J. Garber – Saginaw, MI
Ed McBrien – Bronx, NY
John Pappanastos – Irving, TX
Ke Tian – Jilin Province, P.R. China
Erick Vermei – Driebergen, The Netherlands
2017 – Winter
James Massie – Barrie, Ontario
2017
William M. Wallace – Dallas, TX
Sanford H. Schwartz – Atlanta, GA
Mark N. Scarpelli – Antioch, IL
2016 – Winter
David E. Kepler – Sanford, MI
Kathleen M. Vertin – Marine City, MI
2016
John S. Benson – Frankenmuth, MI
Charlene F. Lake – Dallas, TX
Jennifer T. Panning – Brighton, MI
2015 – Winter
James C. Fabiano, II (Jim) – Freeland, MI
2015
Beth Chappell – Detroit, MI
Steven D. Kelly – Saginaw, MI
Roland V. Massimino (deceased)
John W. McGowan – Stuart, FL
Dale A. Petroskey – Dallas, TX
Jan van Gestel – Driebergen, The Netherlands
2014 – Winter
Richard K. Studley – Lansing, MI
2014
Stephanie D. Curtis – Dallas, TX
Robert D. Hansen – Midland, MI
Michael C. Ilitch (deceased)
Thomas C. Lasorda – Fullerton, CA
Lawrence J. Lindsey – Midland, MI
Sandra E. Pierce – Northville, MI
Jeffrey W. Sullivan – Dallas, TX
2013 – Winter
Donald W. Taylor – Midland, MI
2013
Clyde G. Lear – Jefferson City, MO
James E. Lentz – Torrance, CA
Stephen A. Levin – Palm Beach, FL
Mark L. Reuss – Detroit, MI
Martha Russel Tiller – Dallas, TX
Archie (Art) Van Elslander (deceased)
The Hon. Donna Arp Weitzman – Colleyville, TX
2012 – Winter
Reverend Wallace H. Mayton III – Midland, MI
David B. Ramaker – Midland, MI
2012
Frank Beckmann – Detroit, MI
Captain Samuel Brown – San Antonio, TX
Maria Gatzaros – Detroit, MI
Theodosios (Ted) Gatzaros (deceased)
O. Temple Sloan III – Raleigh, NC
Congressman Allen West – Plantation, FL
2011 – Winter
Chip Perry – Atlanta, GA
2011
Marti J. Carlin – Dallas, TX
Dean H. Eisner – Atlanta, GA
Arthur J. (Bill) Fisher (deceased)
Bette Fisher (deceased)
William I. Koch – West Palm Beach, FL
James E. Koons – Vienna, VA
2010 – Winter
James C. Fabiano Sr. – Bay City, MI
Senator Tony Stamas – Midland, MI
2010
David L. Camp – Midland, MI
James D. Farley – Dearborn, MI
Donald A. Foss – Franklin, MI
Dennis McCuistion – Denison, TX
Patricia A. Riley – Palm Gardens, FL
C. Hamilton Sloan, Morehead City, NC
Mary John Sullivan – Wellington, FL
2009 – Winter
David E. Fry – Williamsburg, MI
Donald E. Hunkins – Lewiston, MI
2009
Thomas J. Brown – Linwood, MI
Yvonne H. Crum – Dallas, TX
Tamara C. Darvish – Washington, DC
Dick DeVos – Grand Rapids, MI
Tom E. Feltenstein – West Palm Beach, FL
Lyttleton T. Harris IV – Houston, TX
Venita Walker VanCaspel Harris (deceased)
James Olan Hutcheson – Dallas, TX
William A. Parlberg – Frankenmuth, MI
2008 – Winter
Lawrence W. Reed – Midland, MI
2008
Stephanie A. Burns – Midland, MI
Mary E. Church – West Palm Beach, FL
Christian Findt – BFC, Germany
Robert J. Grubb – Longmont, CO
Terry Neese – Oklahoma City, OK
Alan E. Sims – Cedar Hill, TX
2007 – Winter
Albert F. Zehnder – Frankenmuth, MI
2007
Jerome McNair Fullinwider – Dallas, TX
David D. Long – Midland, MI
Patrick J. Rooney – West Palm Beach, FL
Kathleen Schmatz – Bethesda, MD
Mort Schwartz – Dansville, CA
Robert W. Serum – Midland, MI
O. Temple Sloan – Raleigh, NC
Patrick J. Sully – West Palm Beach, FL
Clyde E. (Doc) Swalwell (deceased)
2006 – Winter
John R. Darvish – Silver Spring, MD
Margaret Ann (Ranny) Riecker (deceased)
2006
Elizabeth Joan Barice – Riviera Beach, FL
Phillip D. Brady – Alexandria, VA
Anna Junia Doan – Midland, MI
Irma B. Elder (deceased)
Francis E. Gerace (deceased)
Andrew N. Liveris – Midland, MI
2005 – Winter
The Hon. William D. Schuette – Midland, MI
2005
Jeffrey A. Bennett – Midland, MI
Charles L. Canfield – Dallas, TX
Catherine W. Chen – Midland, MI
Dale M. Haywood (deceased)
David J.S. Nicholson – Jupiter, FL
Brian G. Tamblyn – Barrie, Ontario
Nina G. Vaca – Dallas, TX
2004 – Winter
John R. Hantz – Detroit, MI
2004
Jack R. Gaubert (deceased)
Thomas M. Gaubert – DeSoto, TX
Henrietta, Countess de Hoernle (deceased)
Andreas Kunzli – Montreux, Switzerland & Singapore
Frank E. McKinney – Delray Beach, FL
Michel Poté – Angers, France
Kathryn A. Shick – Midland, MI
Gerrit Otto Verrips – Driebergen, The Netherlands
Karl Peter Wilbert – Koln, Germany
Carl F. VanderWoude – Midland, MI
2003 – Winter
Lambert E. Althaver – Cass City, MI
2003
Martin H. Block – Punta Gorda, FL
Carolyn Farb – Houston, TX
Leo C. Jerome – Bloomfield Hills, MI
Cleve L. Killingsworth Jr. – Detroit, MI
Macauley Whiting Jr. – Winter Park, FL
2002 – Winter
Richard H. Morgan – Ft. Worth, TX
2002
Roberta R. Allen (deceased)
James J. Arrigo – West Palm Beach, FL
The Hon. Robert Karl Franke – Cedar Hill, TX
Louis J. Furlo Sr. (deceased)
Catherine Lowe, M.D., – West Palm Beach, FL
Edith P. Molnar – Dallas, TX
James G. O’Connor – Dearborn, MI
Frank J. Uddo (deceased)
Hendrik van der Leest (deceased)
2001– Winter
Terence F. Moore – Midland, MI
2001
Nancy LePard Barker – Midland, MI
Marjorie McIntyre Hohman – Sand Point, MI & Stuart, FL
Maurice F. Malacarne – Stuart, FL Pat Moran – Deerfield, FL
Mark S. Yanke – Houston, TX
2000 – Winter
Michael D. Parker – Midland, MI
2000
Thomas DeRita Jr. – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Carolee Friedlander – Greenwich, CT
Esther Schuette Gerstacker (deceased)
Christi Harris – Dallas, TX
Blaine Kern Sr. – New Orleans, LA
Charles Laser – Deerfield Beach, FL
Alan W. Ott – Midland, MI
M. B. “Duke” Rudman (deceased)
Karen E. Stedman – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
1999 – Winter
Daniel G. DeVos – Grand Rapids, MI
1999
Sis Carr – Dallas, TX
Julia Stacey Edwards (deceased)
Mark A. Foley – West Palm Beach, FL
Edna Hibel – Riveria Beach, FL
Edgar A. Madden (deceased)
Herme deWyman Miro – Palm Beach, FL
Roy S. Roberts – Detroit, MI (deceased)
Robert E. Rossiter (deceased)
Donald B. Tallman – Horicon, WI
1998
Andrew F. Anderson (deceased)
Peter Blum – Manalapan, FL
Kathryn Hach-Darrow – Loveland, CO
Nancy Blackburn Hamon (deceased)
Jim S. Lake (deceased)
Raymond D. Nasher (deceased)
Mark C. Ouimet – Ann Arbor, MI
Mary T. Smith – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
William S. Stavropoulos – Midland, MI
1997
Robert M. Ellis (deceased)
Nancy M. Graham – West Palm Beach, FL
Thomas L. Harken – Beaumont, TX
Bren Simon – Palm Beach, FL
Willa M. Stauffer (deceased)
Annette Strauss (deceased)
Johann Jordan Turner (deceased)
Ann M. Williams – Dallas, TX
1996
Ralph O. Brennan – New Orleans, LA
Frank T. Brogan – Boca Raton, FL
Siegfried Buschmann – Troy, MI
Henry S. Miller Jr. (deceased)
Juanita Lewis Miller (deceased)
Patricia L. Naegele (deceased)
Thomas R. Pledger – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
1995
William J. Edwards (deceased)
John J. Ferron – Detroit, MI
Henry Gilchrist – Dallas, TX
Roger W. Miller – El Paso, TX
John A. Passante – Lakeland, FL
Daniel J. Terra (deceased)
Leo A. Vecellio Sr.
Alfred M. Worden – Vero Beach, FL
1994
Manuel Francisco Ayau (deceased)
Holland H. Coors (deceased)
Robert H. Dedman (deceased)
Robert M. Fairchild – Lakewood, OH
Daniel Hayes – Troy, MI (deceased)
Harvey C. Koch – New Orleans, LA
Heinz C. Prechter (deceased)
1993
Edsel B. Ford II – Dearborn, MI
John Q. Hammons – Springfield, MO
David Lawrence Jr. – Miami, FL
Virginia Long Linthicum (deceased)
Richard D. O’Connor (deceased)
David H. Smith (deceased)
Charles F. Tupper Jr. – Dallas, TX
1992
Milton Cades (deceased)
Terry D. Carder – Dayton, OH
Comer J. Cottrell Jr. – Dallas, TX
Leigh E. Dunston – West Palm Beach, FL
E. Llwyd Ecclestone Jr. – West Palm Beach, FL
Cecil Amelia Blaffer Furstenberg
Thomas S. Haggai – High Point, NC
Ada E. Leeke (deceased)
Richard C. Pendell (deceased)
Peter Dirk Voogd – Driebergen, Holland
Lee H. Wilson (deceased)
1991
Edward O. Blews Jr. – Washington, DC
Elmer E. Braun (deceased)
Earl G. Graves – New York, NY
H. Ward Lay – Dallas, TX
Robert E. Naegele (deceased)
Idelle G. Rabin – Dallas, TX
Maureen L. Smith – Fort Lauderdale, FL
1990
Philip E. Benton Jr. – Boca Grande, FL
Hannah Baker Church (deceased)
David R. Holmes – Rockport, ME
Gretchen Josey (deceased)
Don E. Kenady – Frankfort, KY
John W. Nerlinger (deceased)
Frank Popoff – Midland, MI
Rosemary Haggar Vaughan – Dallas, TX
Paul W. Williams (deceased)
1989
Thomas M. Benson – New Orleans, LA
Robert D. Camp (deceased)
Winifred B. Hirsch (deceased)
Patrick F. Taylor (deceased)
Leo A. Vecellio Jr. – North Palm Beach, FL
Frederick G. Wacker Jr. (deceased)
1988
Mary Jane Bostick (deceased)
Norman E. Brinker (deceased)
Barbara Dow Carras – Midland, MI
Peter C. Cook (deceased)
Merton G. Henry (deceased)
Charles A. Muer (deceased)
Patsy R. Nasher (deceased)
1987
William E. LaMothe – Battle Creek, MI
Ellison Miles – Dallas, TX
James M. Moran (deceased)
Catherine S. Nelson (deceased)
Joseph L. Nicolato – Paramus, NJ
Joan H. Swalwell – Dallas, TX
A. Starke Taylor Jr. – Dallas, TX
Frank S. Wright (deceased)
M. H. Yager (deceased)
1986
John J. Brogan – Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Effie Cain – Dallas, TX
John A. Church (deceased)
John A. Cook (deceased)
James R. Garfield II (deceased)
John A. Hohman (deceased)
Milka V. Iconomoff (deceased)
John D. Mitchell (deceased)
Russell H. Perry (deceased)
1985
Larry Anton – Fort Worth, TX
Keith E. Crain – Detroit, MI
S. L. Marshall (deceased)
Thomas F. Moser – Portland, ME
Dorothy M. Ross (deceased)
Chris V. Semos (deceased)
1984
Thomas B. Adams (deceased)
R. Gary Stauffer (deceased)
Arthur E. Turner (deceased)
Gerald M. Woolever (deceased)
1983
Paul Cole Jr. – Bluefield, WV
Louise Phipps Crandall – Newport Beach, CA
Reed T. Draper (deceased)
Mimi Rudulph (deceased)
R. J. Smith Jr. (deceased)
Sylvia Syms (deceased)
1982
Thomas G. Cook (deceased)
William H. Edwards (deceased)
Barron Kidd (deceased)
Edward W. Parkinson (deceased)
Harriet Cracraft Stout (deceased)
R. David Thomas (deceased)
1981
Celeste Holm (deceased)
William C. Lewis Jr. (deceased)
John S. Ludington (deceased)
F. James McDonald (deceased)
Ernest E. Renaud (deceased)
Jack F. Sanders (deceased)
H. Gladys Spear (deceased)
1980
Robert B. Bennett (deceased)
Peter Gust Economou (deceased)
William G. Harkey – Haines City, FL
Ernest A. Jones (deceased)
Harris O. Machus (deceased)
1979
R. William Barker – Midland, MI
E. Mandell DeWindt – Cleveland, OH
B. K. Hargis (deceased)
Glen Y. Miller – Kitty Hawk, NC
Gordon F. Oates – Louisville, KY
Kenneth W. Ryker (deceased)
Fred M. Zeder II (deceased)
1978
Charles A. DuBois (deceased)
Amy Hopkins (deceased)
Edgar W. Ingram – Columbus, OH
William L. Lanphar (deceased)
Robert D. Lund (deceased)
Margaret Chase Smith (deceased)
1977
Dollie A. Cole (deceased)
Richard M. DeVos – Ada, MI (deceased)
Martin E. Goldman (deceased)
Jane M. Haber (deceased)
Harland Sanders (deceased)
1976
Carson Hollingsworth (deceased)
Zoltan Merszei – Greenwich, CT
William M. Siegel – Encino, CA
Richard Thrune (deceased)
Robert VanderKloot (deceased)
1975
Vada B. Dow (deceased)
John L. Gaffney (deceased)
Carl A. Gerstacker (deceased)
Dorothy Gregg (deceased)
Bob Hope (deceased)
1974
Carlo Bernini (deceased)
Evelyn Lambert (deceased)
James P. Low (deceased)
Charles F. Reed (deceased)
Fred Schmid – Valencia, CA
Al Schneider (deceased)
Karl D. Story (deceased)
1973
John E. Conley (deceased)
G. James Hasslocher (deceased)
Louanna Baker Jones (deceased)
George W. Kibbie (deceased)
David H. Morgan (deceased)
Kemmons Wilson (deceased)
1972
Don L. Brubaker (deceased)
Lynn B. Coleman (deceased)
Arno Dalby (deceased)
Edward A. Hasenour (deceased)
Robert Richards – Santo, TX
Beverley V. Thompson (deceased)
Clara VanderKloot (deceased)
V. Orval Watts (deceased)
Helen Dow Whiting (deceased)
1971
Gilbert A. Currie (deceased)
Henry F. DeBoest (deceased)
Robert E. Heilman (deceased)
John W. Hillenbrand (deceased)
Maurice Hirsch (deceased)
Martin L. Horn Jr. (deceased)
William A. Paton (deceased)
W. Price Jr. (deceased)
Theodore D. Vosburgh (deceased)
C. W. Whitston (deceased)
1970
John S. D. Eisenhower (deceased)
Donald Greenaway (deceased)
R.T. Johnstone – Darien, CT
Howard E. Kershner (deceased)
Dean L. Sellers (deceased)
Macauley Whiting Sr. (deceased)
1969
Charles E. Ballard (deceased)
Ernest R. Britton (deceased)
Alden B. Dow (deceased)
Lenore S. Forti (deceased)
Howard C. Grimes (deceased)
Frederick L. Hovde (deceased)
Wesley P. Jordan (deceased)
Kurt F. Pantzer (deceased)
James G. Stauffer (deceased)
1968
Marjory Britton (deceased)
Glenn L. Clayton (deceased)
Jose Greco (deceased)
Willis M. Tate (deceased)
Henry Whiting Sr. (deceased)
1967
Helen Dean (deceased)
Leland I. Doan (deceased)
Neil C. McKay (deceased)
James C. Moore Jr. (deceased)
1966
Earl H. Cress (deceased)
Thomas Griswold Jr. (deceased)
Henry G. Little (deceased)
James W. Miller (deceased)
Paul Moore (deceased)
1965
William J. Baker (deceased)
Ethel F. Bebb (deceased)
Edgar L. Harden (deceased)
Everett N. Luce (deceased)
1964
E. O. Barstow (deceased)
John H. Crichton (deceased)
Harry M. Sisson (deceased)
1963
Earl W. Bennett (deceased)
Arline DuBois (deceased)
John A. Hannah (deceased)
1962
Charles S. H. Mott (deceased)
Oscar Webber (deceased)
1961
Charles L. Anspach (deceased)
