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Awards

Home > Awards and Honorary Degrees

Awards and Honorary Degrees Received by Sandra Day O'Connor

Justice O’Connor was honored to be recognized by educational institutions, organizations, and individuals throughout her career. We invite you to explore the many awards and honorary degrees she received in this timeline.

1982

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

June 10

1981 National Service Medal, Freedoms Foundation

June 11

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Thomas Jefferson University

November 23

Service to Democracy Award, American Assembly

1983

May 29

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Tufts University

1984

February 18

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Washington College

April 9

Father, Harry “D.A.” Day, dies, age 85

May 9

President’s Special Award, New York Women's Bar Association

May 11

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Arizona State University

October 24

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Fordham University

1985

March 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

July 25

1985 Mortar Board National Citation Award, Mortar Board Inc.

1986

March 19

Marshall Visitor Award, International House

May 26

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Georgetown University

October 28

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Gonzaga University

1987

April 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

June 27

Golden Plate Award, American Academy of Achievement

November 20

Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Minnesota Law School

1988

June 25

Achievement Award, American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation

October 3

Diagnosed with breast cancer

October 21

Undergoes mastectomy operation

November 5

Begins chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer

1989

January 20

Swears in Dan Quayle as Vice President of the United States

May 14

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Rockford College

June 1

Mother, Ada Mae “M.O.” Wilkey Day, dies, age 85

October 2

Ends treatment for breast cancer

November 15

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

1990

May 3

Bess Wallace Truman Award, Junior Service League of Independence, Missouri

September 22

Award of Merit, Stanford Law School

September 28

Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Delaware

October 10

Judge William Green Award for Professional Excellence, The University of Richmond

1991

April 15

Centennial Medal, Daughters of the American Revolution

May 18

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Widener University

1992

May 4

Brandeis Medal Award, The University of Louisville School of Law

May 12

Ohio State Law Award, Ohio State University

June 10

Honorary Doctor of Laws, New York Law School

September 10

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Willamette College of Law

October 23

Gold Good Citizenship Medal, Sons of the American Revolution

October 27

Fordham-Stein Prize, Fordham University

1993

April 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

November 7

General Omar N. Bradley Spirit of Independence Award, The Sports Foundation December 30

1994

August 11

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Brigham Young University

1995

May 8

Government Communicator Award in public service, The Advertising Council, Inc.

May 21

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Southwestern University

September 22

Distinguished Achievement Award, Arizona State University

September 23

Frances Willard Munds Award, The Arizona 75th Anniversary of Woman Suffrage Task Force

September 28

Congressional Families Action for Cancer Awareness award, The Congressional Families Advisory Board

October 14

National Women’s Hall of Fame Award, The Board of Directors of the National Women’s Hall of Fame

October 25

Brien McMahon Memorial Award, Fordham University Club

1996

May 12

Honorary Doctor of Civil Law, University of the South

May 25

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Brown University

November 7

The Henry Clay Medallion, The Henry Clay Society October 1

November 26

Sandra Day O’Connor Medal of Honor, Seton Hall University School of Law

December 14

Honorary Doctor of Laws, The University of Michigan

1997

April 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

August 2

American Bar Association Medal, The American Bar Association

October 29

Maggie Sloan Crawford Award, The Olivet Nazarene University

November 6

Sara Lee Frontrunner Award, The Sara Lee Foundation

1998

March 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

October 19

Baldwin Public Service Award, Quinnipiac College Law School

1999

January 4

Swears in the Arizona “Fab Five” – Five women holding the state’s highest elected offices

March 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

2000

April 4

Honorary Doctor of Laws, The Citadel Military College of South Carolina

July 9

Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award, The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession

November 7

Honorary Doctor of Laws, The George Mason University

2001

April 21

Western Heritage Award, The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

September 21

Carol Los Mansmann Award for Distinguished Public Service, Duquesne University School of Law

2002

January 19

Will Rogers Memorial Award, The New Mexico Military Institute

June 7

Induction in the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame and Hall of Fame Medal,, The National Cowgirl Museum

2003

April 25

Benjamin Franklin Award for Distinguished Public Service, The American Philosophical Society

May 5

Theodore Roosevelt American Experience Award, Union League Club

May 25

Honorary Doctor of Laws, George Washington University Law School

June 10

Honorary Doctor of International Law, Thunderbird

July 4

Philadelphia Liberty Medal, The National Constitution Center

October 28

Award for World Justice, Southern Center for International Studies

November 8

The Ruth Batner Miller Memorial Award for Excellence in American History, Friends of the Concord Free Public Library

December 4

Role Model of the Year Award, Jobs for America’s Graduates Inc.

December 6

Judicial Honoree of the Year award, The Bar Association of the District of Columbia

2004

March 8

The Elliot L. Richardson Prize for Excellence in Public Service, Council for Court Excellence

April 12

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Oklahoma City University

April 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

June 1

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Yeshiva University

June 11

Distinguished Career Award, The Arizona Bar Association

June 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

June 22

2004 National Jefferson Award in the Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official category, American Institute for Public Service

August 7

Aspen Institute Public Service Award, The Aspen Institute

November 18

The Gold Medal Award, Union League of Philadelphia

2005

April 5

Chesterfield Smith Award, Street Law Inc.

April 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

July 1

Sends letter to President George W. Bush announcing retirement from Supreme Court

October 4

Begins tenure as Chancellor of the College of William and Mary

October 20

West Point Sylvanus Thayer Award, The Association of Graduates United States Military Academy

October 22

Joan and David Lincoln Award for Public Virtue, The Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics

November 15

The Compass Award, The National Constitution Center

November 17

Rita C. Davidson Award, The Women’s Bar Association of Maryland

2006

January 31

Steps down as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Begins to serve as a visiting judge at U.S. Circuit Courts around the country, maintaining chambers at the Supreme Court and continuing to hire law clerks

February 1

First meeting held to plan the relocation of the historic O’Connor House

March 6

Life Time Achievement Award, The National Association of Women Judges Association

May 22

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Yale University

September 19

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Elon University School of Law

October 28

Lincoln Leadership Prize, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation

2007

February 9

Silver Anniversary Leadership Award, The YWCA of Tucson

March 2

George P. Shultz Distinguished Public Service Award, The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

November 13

2007 Gold Medal Award, The National Institute of Social Sciences

November 13

Wolfgang Friedmann Memorial Award, Columbia Journal of Transnational Law

2008

February 2

2008 Gold Medal Award, The New York State Bar Association

February 10

Ford’s Theatre Lincoln Medal, Ford’s Theatre Society

February 27

2008 Reagan Distinguished American Award, Jonathan Club

March 26

Harry F. Byrd Class of 1935 Public Service Award, The Virginia Military Institute

April 10

2008 Trustees Council of Penn Women Beacon Award, Trustees Council of Penn Women

April 17

Wallace Stegner Award, The Center of the American West at University of Colorado

May 18

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Gettysburg College

October 1

Friends of O’Connor House organization officially formed

October 15

Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale

October 30

2008 Wickersham Award, The Friends of the Law Library of Congress

December 12

Honorary Doctor of Media and Governance, honoris causa, Keio University at Tokyo

2009

March 3

501(c)(3) designation granted to Friends of O’Connor House

April 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

June 5

Radcliffe Institute Medal, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

July 1

O’Connor House successfully relocated to Papago Park in Tempe, AZ

August 12

Presidential Medal of Freedom, President Barack Obama

September 1

O’Connor House receives Certificate of Occupancy, marking the completion of the house’s relocation

September 17

Honorary Doctor of Laws, Roanoke College

November 4

Honorary Doctor of Laws, State University of New York at Binghamton

November 11

Husband John Jay O’Connor dies, age 79

November 18

The Richard Nelson Current Award, The Lincoln Forum

2010

March 5

Rosalie Wynn Hearst Distinguished Public Service Award, The United States Senate Youth Alumni Association

June 1

Friends of O’Connor House 501(c)(3) changes name to O’Connor House to expand programming beyond historic preservation

October 14

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award, The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

October 15

Senator William Proxmire Award 2009, The Cooper Ridge Institute

2011

April 14

Annie Oakley Society Award, National Cowboy Museum

April 30

Colonial Williamsburg Churchill Bell Award, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

August 5

The John Marshall Award, The American Bar Association Justice Center

October 14

2011 Brigham-Kanner Prize, William & Mary Law School at Tsinghua University Law School

October 20

The Henry J. Friendly Medal, The American Law Institute

2012

January 6

Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award, The American Historical Association

February 3

Ends tenure as Chancellor of the College of William and Mary

April 18

Sackler Center First Award, The Brooklyn Museum Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

October 18

Lee Integrity Award, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Association

2013

2014

2015

March 30

O’Connor House, with guidance from Justice O’Connor, is strategically rebranded as the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute

June 30

Retires as a visiting federal judge, relinquishes chambers at U.S. Supreme Court

2016

January 19

O’Connor Institute creates Sandra Day O’Connor Scholarship Fund to benefit gifted law students at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University

May 7

Sister, Ann Day, dies in an automobile accident

2017

June 5

O’Connor Institute launches Camp O’Connor civics program for 7th and 8th grade students

2018

October 23

Announces retirement from public life

2019

February 7

O’Connor Institute launches Emerging Leaders Network for young adults ages 18-39

July 19

O’Connor House placed on National Register of Historic Places. O’Connor Institute establishes O’Connor House Preservation Fund.

2020

September 25

Arizona holds its first annual Sandra Day O’Connor Civics Celebration Day

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