Trustees’ Regulation on Honorary Degrees, Awards and Distinctions

Resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, November 18, 1972, as amended July 26, 1980, October 26, 1990, March 21, 1997, March 25, 2021, and November 13, 2025.

BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the exercise of its authority to approve "the names of all individuals on whom it is proposed that an honorary degree or other honorary or memorial distinction be conferred by the institution," will consider only such names as are proposed in accordance with the following specifications of procedure and policy when awarding Honorary Degrees, Awards and Distinctions, including but not limited to Honorary Degrees and Distinguished Alumni Awards:

1. Honorary degrees to be awarded by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shall be Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Doctor of Letters (Litt.D.), Doctor of Science (D.Sci.), Doctor of Arts (D.A.), Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.), and Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). Only in exceptional circumstances shall a more specialized honorary degree be conferred.
2. Honorary degrees, awards and distinctions shall be conferred only on those deemed deserving of such awards by reason of eminent achievement in scholarship or in public affairs or in service to the University, the State of North Carolina, or the nation through activities recognized as impactful in the educational world.
3. Members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus community, including Trustees, the Chancellor, faculty, administrators, staff, students, and UNC Chapel Hill alumni may submit nominations for honorary degrees, awards and distinctions conferred by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For Honorary Degrees and Distinguished Alumni Awards, nominations may only be made for living people and shall be made in writing to the Chancellor’s Office through the Assistant Secretary.
4. The Chancellor’s Office, through the Assistant Secretary, shall maintain the list of the names of people properly nominated, according to University procedures, for an honorary degree, award or distinction. The name of a nominee shall remain on this nomination list for consideration by the Board of Trustees until the sooner of: (i) the approval and acceptance of the nominee for selection of an honorary degree, award or distinction, (ii) the death of the nominee, or (iii) five years from the date of receipt of the recommendation by the Chancellor’s Office through the Assistant Secretary.
5. The Chair of the Board of Trustees shall appoint an Awards Committee annually to review nominations and make recommendations to the full Board of Trustees for consideration and approval. The Committee membership consists of no more than five Trustees.
6. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may confer up to five honorary degrees per academic year. The Awards Committee may present an additional honorary degree for BOT approval to be conferred on the commencement speaker.
7. Except Section 8 below, if an honorary degree, award or distinction is offered to a person who for any reason does not appear at, or participate in, the Commencement or other stated occasion at which the award is to be conferred, that award shall lapse, and the individual will be re-included on the list of people properly nominated, subject to the requirements of Section 4 of this Regulation.
8. If an honorary degree, award or distinction is offered to a living person who then dies before the Commencement or other stated occasion at which the award is to be conferred, that award shall nonetheless be awarded posthumously.
9. No person shall be eligible to be awarded an honorary degree, award or distinction by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while that person is serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a member of the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, or as a member of the faculty, staff, or administration of The University of North Carolina or any one of its constituent institutions. No such person shall be eligible for such an award earlier than at the second Commencement after the termination of any such relationship with The University of North Carolina and/or any of its constituent institutions.
10. No person shall be eligible to be awarded an honorary degree, award or distinction by The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if they have already received the same honorary degree, award or distinction from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
11. The Board of Trustees may revoke a previously awarded honorary degree, award or distinction if actions by the recipient, unknown to the Board of Trustees at the time of their approval, jeopardize The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s integrity or materially impede its mission in teaching, research, and public engagement.
12. The University administration may promulgate a procedure on honorary degrees, awards and distinctions to provide any further direction on the nominations and consideration process. That procedure shall not be inconsistent with this Regulation.