Northwestern will award five individuals — including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and former University President Morton Schapiro — with honorary degrees, the University announced in a news release Friday. 

Other honorees include Agnes Binagwaho, retired vice chancellor and co-founder of the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda; Sharon Bowen, the first woman and person of color to chair the New York Stock Exchange; and Luis Valdez, an American playwright who founded the award-winning theatre company El Teatro Campesino.

Binagwaho will receive an honorary doctor of science for her work in the medical field. A Rwandan pediatrician, she served as the country’s Minister of Health for five years. She is currently a professor of pediatrics at UGHE, a senior lecturer at Harvard Medical School and a clinical professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Bowen (JD-MBA ‘82) will receive an honorary doctor of laws. In addition to her leadership at the NYSE, she was the first African American appointed commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She was also an executive committee member and chair of Northwestern’s Law School Board.

Valdez will receive an honorary doctor of arts. Along with his work in the arts, he also has a background as an activist with the United Farm Workers and the early Chicano Movement. This influenced his works, including “Zoot Suit,” the first Chicano play on Broadway.

The individuals will receive their degrees at the 165th commencement ceremony in June.

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