Awards & Honorary Degrees

Awards and Honorary Degrees Received by Sandra Day O'Connor

Click on any year for more detailed information.

May 1
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Columbia College
May 5
Gimble National Award, Gimble Philadelphia Awards Committee
May 25
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Wheaton College
May 31
Honorary Doctor of Laws, The Colorado College
Jun 10
1981 National Service Medal, Freedoms Foundation
Jun 11
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Thomas Jefferson University
Nov 23
Service to Democracy Award, American Assembly
May 29
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Tufts University
Feb 18
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Washington College
May 9
President's Special Award, New York Women's Bar Association
May 11
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Arizona State University
Oct 24
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Fordham University
Mar 8
Elizabeth Blackwell Award, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
May 18
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Arizona
May 25
Honorary Doctorate of Laws, Wheaton College
Jul 25
1985 Mortar Board National Citation Award, Mortar Board Inc.
Mar 19
Marshall Visitor Award, International House
May 26
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Georgetown University
Oct 28
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Gonzaga University
Apr 13
Thomas Jefferson Award in Law, University of Virginia
May 8
Jane Addams Award, Rockford College
May 25
Distinguished Public Service Award, Maricopa County Bar Association
Jun 27
Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement
Nov 20
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Minnesota Law School
Jun 25
Achievement Award, American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation
May 14
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Rockford College
Nov 15
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
May 3
Bess Wallace Truman Award, Junior Service League of Independence, Missouri
Sep 22
Award of Merit, Stanford Law School
Sep 28
Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Delaware
Oct 10
Judge William Green Award for Professional Excellence, The University of Richmond
Apr 15
Centennial Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution
May 18
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Widener University
May 4
Brandeis Medal Award, The University of Louisville School of Law
May 12
Ohio State Law Award, Ohio State University
Jun 10
Honorary Doctor of Laws, New York Law School
Sep 10
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Willamette College of Law
Oct 23
Gold Good Citizenship Medal, Sons of the American Revolution
Oct 27
Fordham-Stein Prize, Fordham University
Apr 3
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Wake Forest University
May 4
Learned Hand Medal, The Federal Bar Council Law Day Dinner
May 22
Distinguished Citizen Award, The University of Arizona College of Law
Nov 7
General Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award, The Sports Foundation December 30
Aug 11
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Brigham Young University
May 8
Government Communicator Award in public service, The Advertising Council, Inc.
May 21
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Southwestern University
Sep 22
Distinguished Achievement Award, Arizona State University
Sep 23
Frances Willard Munds Award, The Arizona 75th Anniversary of Woman Suffrage Task Force
Sep 28
Congressional Families Action for Cancer Awareness award, The Congressional Families Advisory Board
Oct 14
National Women's Hall of Fame Award, The Board of Directors of the National Women’s Hall of Fame
Oct 25
Brien McMahon Memorial Award, Fordham University Club
May 12
Honorary Doctor of Civil Law, University of the South
May 25
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Brown University
Nov 7
The Henry Clay Medallion, The Henry Clay Society October 1
Nov 26
Sandra Day O'Connor Medal of Honor, Seton Hall University School of Law
Dec 14
Honorary Doctor of Laws, The University of Michigan
Apr 5
Sandra Day O’Connor Award, Arizona Womens’ Foundation
May 14
Janet Reno Torchbearer Award, The Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia
Aug 2
American Bar Association Medal, The American Bar Association
Oct 29
Maggie Sloan Crawford Award, The Olivet Nazarene University
Nov 6
Sara Lee Frontrunner Award, The Sara Lee Foundation
Mar 10
Ellen Browning Scripps Medal, Scripps College for Women
May 2
Mary Harriman Award, The Association of Junior Leagues International
May 7
Cosmos Club Award, The Cosmos Club
Oct 19
Baldwin Public Service Award, Quinnipiac College Law School
Mar 16
First Ladies Salute First Women Award, The National First Ladies’ Library
May 4
Honorary Doctor of Public Service, The South Dakota State University
May 23
Honorary Doctor of Laws, American University
Apr 4
Honorary Doctor of Laws, The Citadel Military College of South Carolina
Jul 9
Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession
Nov 7
Honorary Doctor of Laws, The George Mason University
Apr 21
Western Heritage Award, The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
Sep 21
Carol Los Mansmann Award for Distinguished Public Service, Duquesne University School of Law
Jan 19
Will Rogers Memorial Award, The New Mexico Military Institute
Jun 7
Induction in the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame and Hall of Fame Medal,, The National Cowgirl Museum
Apr 25
Benjamin Franklin Award for Distinguished Public Service, The American Philosophical Society
May 5
Theodore Roosevelt American Experience Award, Union League Club
Jun 10
Honorary Doctor of International Law, Thunderbird
Jul 4
Philadelphia Liberty Medal, The National Constitution Center
Oct 28
Award for World Justice, Southern Center for International Studies
Nov 8
The Ruth Batner Miller Memorial Award for Excellence in American History, Friends of the Concord Free Public Library
Dec 4
Role Model of the Year Award, Jobs for America’s Graduates Inc.
Dec 6
Judicial Honoree of the Year award, The Bar Association of the District of Columbia
Mar 8
The Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence in Public Service, Council for Court Excellence
Apr 12
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Oklahoma City University
Apr 23
Publius Award, Center for the Study of the Presidency
May 23
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Centre College
May 25
2004 Women’s Leadership Award, The Women’s Leadership Forum
Jun 1
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Yeshiva University
Jun 11
Distinguished Career Award, The Arizona Bar Association
Jun 22
2004 National Jefferson Award in the Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official category, American Institute for Public Service
Jun 22
US. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, The American Institute for Public Service and the Jefferson Awards
Aug 7
Aspen Institute Public Service Award, The Aspen Institute
Nov 18
The Gold Medal Award, Union League of Philadelphia
Apr 5
Chesterfield Smith Award, Street Law Inc.
Apr 12
Frederick A.P. Barnard Award, Barnard College - Columbia University
May 6
Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, The Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation
May 20
Benjamin Franklin Creativity Laureate Prize, The Creativity Foundation
Oct 20
West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award, The Association of Graduates United States Military Academy
Oct 22
Joan and David Lincoln Award for Public Virtue, The Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics
Nov 15
The Compass Award, The National Constitution Center
Nov 17
Rita C. Davidson Award, The Women’s Bar Association of Maryland
Mar 6
Life Time Achievement Award, The National Association of Women Judges Association
May 22
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Yale University
Sep 19
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Elon University School of Law
Oct 28
Lincoln Leadership Prize, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
Feb 9
Silver Anniversary Leadership Award, The YWCA of Tucson
Mar 2
George P. Shultz Distinguished Public Service Award, The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Nov 13
2007 Gold Medal Award, The National Institute of Social Sciences
Nov 13
Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
Feb 2
2008 Gold Medal Award, The New York State Bar Association
Feb 10
Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal, Ford’s Theatre Society
Feb 27
2008 Reagan Distinguished American Award, Jonathan Club
Mar 26
Harry F. Byrd Class of 1935 Public Service Award, The Virginia Military Institute
Apr 10
2008 Trustees Council of Penn Women Beacon Award, Trustees Council of Penn Women
Apr 17
Wallace Stegner Award, The Center of the American West at University of Colorado
May 18
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Gettysburg College
Oct 15
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale
Oct 30
2008 Wickersham Award, The Friends of the Law Library of Congress
Dec 12
Honorary Doctor of Media and Governance, honoris causa, Keio University at Tokyo
Apr 9
2009 Hendrick Fellowship Award, The United States Coast Guard Academy
May 18
2009 Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award, The University of Illinois
May 22
Person of the Century Award, The Los Angeles Rotary Club
Jun 5
Radcliffe Institute Medal, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
Aug 12
Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama
Sep 17
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Roanoke College
Nov 4
Honorary Doctor of Laws, State University of New York at Binghamton
Nov 18
The Richard Nelson Current Award, The Lincoln Forum
Mar 5
Rosalie Wynn Hearst Distinguished Public Service Award, The United States Senate Youth Alumni Association
Oct 14
The ABA Rule of Law Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award, The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative
Oct 15
Senator William Proxmire Award 2009, The Cooper Ridge Institute
Apr 14
Annie Oakley Society Award, National Cowboy Museum
Apr 30
Colonial Williamsburg Churchill Bell Award, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Aug 5
The John Marshall Award, The American Bar Association Justice Center
Oct 14
2011 Brigham-Kanner Prize, William & Mary Law School at Tsinghua University Law School
Oct 20
The Henry J. Friendly Medal, The American Law Institute
Jan 6
Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award, The American Historical Association
Apr 18
Sackler Center First Award, The Brooklyn Museum Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art
Oct 18
Lee Integrity Award, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Association

Header photo: Justice O'Connor in September 2011. Credit: Matt Rourke, AP.