1826-1890 | 1891-1920 | 1921-1939 | 1940-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1999 | 2000-
| 2010-2019
*Rensselaer president
| No. | Date | Commencement Speaker | Honorary Degrees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 174 | May 16, 1980 | Theodore Martin Hesburgh, President, Notre Dame University | Theodore M. Hesburgh; D.H.L. J. Christopher Jaffe ’47; D.Sc. James Lighthill; D.Eng. |
| 175 | May 15, 1981 | Harrison Hagen Schmitt, U.S. Senator, New Mexico | H. Joseph Gerber ’47; D.Eng. Harrison H. Schmitt; D.Sc. John B. Slaughter; D.Eng. Rosalyn S. Yallow; D.Sc. |
| 176 | May 21, 1982 | George A. Keyworth II, Director, Office of Science & Technology Policy, Executive Office of the U.S. President | Michael S. Brown; D.Sc. Edward E. David, Jr.; D.Eng. Joseph L. Goldstein; D.Sc. George A. Keyworth II; D.Sc. |
| 177 | May 20, 1983 | Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator, NY | J. Dyson Freeman; D.Sc. David McCullough; D.H.L. Daniel P. Moynihan; LL.D. John J. Redfern, Jr. ’33; LL.D |
| honors convocation | Oct. 12, 1983 | Hugh L. Carey; LL.D. John R. Opel; D.H.L. Frank H. T. Rodes; D.H.L. John F. Welch, Jr.; D.Eng. |
|
| 178 | May 18, 1984 | Lt. General James A. Abrahamson, Director of Strategic Defense Initiatives, US Dept. of Defense | James A. Abrahamson; D.Eng. John C. Polanyi; D.Sc. Carl J. Thomsen ’38; LL.D. |
| 179 | May 17, 1985 | Dr. Richard L. Garwin, Fellow, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center | Richard L. Garwin; D.Sc. Percy A. Pierre; D.Eng. Roger B. Smith; LL.D. Kenneth D. Snelson; D.A.&H.L. |
| 180 | May 16, 1986 | Garry B. Trudeau, Cartoonist and Author | Garry B. Trudeau; D.H.L. Daniel Bell; D.Sc E. Margaret Burbridge; D.Sc Leslie Robertson; D.Eng |
| 181 | May 15, 1987 | John F. Akers, Chairman of the Board, IBM | John F. Akers; LL.D. Elmer L. Gaden, Jr.; D.Eng. William J. Kennedy; D.A.&H.L. Jack S. Parker; LL.D. Howard E. Simmons; D.Sc. |
| 182 | May 20, 1988 | Hon. James B. Hunt, Jr., Senior Partner, Poyner & Spruill Law Firm, Former Governor of North Carolina | James B. Hunt, Jr.; LL.D. Raymond Kurzweil; D.Sc. Wassily Leontief; D.H.L. C. Sheldon Roberts ’48; D.Eng. An Wang; D.Eng. |
| Sept. 23, 1988 | *Inauguration of President Roland W. Schmitt | Norman R. Augustine; D.Eng. Paul E. Gray; D.Sc. Claudine C. Shneider; D.H.L. |
|
| 183 | May 19, 1989 | Walter E. Massey, VP for Research for Argonne National Laboratory & Professor of Physics, Univ. of Chicago | Erich Bloch; LL.D. Mariam K. Chamberlain; D.H.L. Jerry R. Junkins; D.Eng. Walter Massey; D.Sc. |