The tradition of awarding honorary degrees at The American University of Rome began in 1994. Honorary degrees are the most significant recognition conferred by the university and recipients are selected by a panel that includes members of the board of trustees, the university President, and the institution's faculty. The awarding of an honorary degree marks the recipent as an individual who has pioneered achievement in a field or has conspicuously contributed to the common good.
Honorary degree recipients serve as examples to our graduates, encouraging them to aspire to excellence and to value the particular traits of academic or cultural achievement that they embody.
2021-2024
2011-2020
Adele Chatfield Taylor
Arts Administrator and former President of the American Academy in Rome
Salvatore Mancuso
President of Equinox and former Vice-President of Alitalia
Laura Boldrini
Italian politician and former United Nations official. Served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
James Murdoch
British-American businessman and former chief executive officer of 21st Century Fox
2001-2010
Catherine Bertini
Leader in International Organization Management, former Executive Director of World Food Program
Patricia de Stacy Harrison
U. S. Assistant Secretary of State, Educational & Cultural Affairs
Dr. Margaret J. Giannini
Director, Office of Disability, Department of Health and Human Services
John F. Scarpa
Co-founder of American Cellular Network Corporation and Unitel Wireless Communications Systems
Robert H. Evans
Educator, Scholar of Politics and International Relations. Former President of The American University of Rome
Pier Francesco Guarguaglini
Italian Engineer, Businessman and Educator, former Chairman of Finmeccanica
Adriano La Regina
Italian Archaeologist and former President of the Instituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell Arte
Vincent Viola
Former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange, and the founder and chairman of Virtu Financial
Robert Carlucci
Businessman and Philanthropist. Founder of R&R Ventures
1994-2000
Corinne Claiborne Boggs
American Politician and former Ambassador of the U.S. to the Vatican
Stephen A. Fausel
Philanthropist, Environmentalist, Businessman, Humanitarian
