WASHINGTON – The Howard University Board of Trustees today announced the list of recipients who will receive honorary doctorate degrees from the University in 2019. The degrees will be granted during the 151st Commencement Convocation on Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. on the main campus of Howard University’s Upper Quadrangle.

The honorary recipients include First Data Chairman and CEO Frank Bisignano, honorary Doctor of Humane Letters; Xavier University of Louisiana President Emeritus Norman C. Francis, J.D., honorary Doctor of Humane Letters; Senior Scholar-in-Residence Emerita, Office of the President and CEO of the American Dental Education Association Jeanne C. Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D., honorary Doctor of Science; and Historian and former Howard University Provost Michael R. Winston, Ph.D., honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

“As we celebrate our 151st Commencement Convocation, we embrace and recognize the contributions of our 2019 honorary degree recipients, Mr. Bisignano, Dr. Francis, Dr. Sinkford and Dr. Winston. Through their accomplished bodies of work, each has made a significant contribution to society and embodies the spirit and aspiration that guides Howard’s mission of excellence in truth and service,” said Howard University President Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick.

Frank Bisignano is the chairman and chief executive officer of First Data – one of the largest FinTech companies, providing commerce solutions to businesses and financial institutions across the globe. Bisignano joined First Data six years ago, and under his leadership, the company has transformed from a traditional payments processor to an innovative FinTech leader, enabling approximately 100 billion electronic transactions, representing $2.6 trillion in payment volume and equity value of over $20 billion.

Bisignano’s leadership in financial services extends through his nearly 30-year career and includes senior roles at some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Before coming to First Data, Bisignano served as Co-Chief Operating Officer and CEO of Mortgage Banking at JPMorgan Chase. Bisignano supports numerous philanthropic organizations, including the Mount Sinai Health System, The Perelman Center for Performing Arts and PENCIL, an organization that brings together business professional with students and educators. He also holds multiple board positions in both public sector and nonprofit organizations, including the Partnership for New York City, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, The Battery Conservancy, The Perelman Center for Performing Arts at the World Trade Center and more. 

Norman C. Francis, J.D., is president emeritus of Xavier University of Louisiana. During his presidency, the nation's only historically Black and Catholic university more than doubled its enrollment, broadened its curriculum, expanded its campus and strengthened its financial base. Francis, then the longest-sitting university president in the U.S. (since 1968) and himself an alumnus, was at Xavier for more than five decades as an administrator. He was credited with being the catalyst for nearly every building constructed on the campus during a period of four decades. In 2006, then-President George W. Bush presented him with the nation’s highest civil award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

In 2009, Francis was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News Media Group and the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership. He has received more than 40 honorary degrees and at least 20 major awards in recognition of his leadership in higher education as well as his unselfish service to New Orleans and to the nation.

Jeanne Craig Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D., D.Sc., FACD, FICD, is senior scholar-in-residence emerita, Office of the President and CEO of the American Dental Education Association. She is professor and dean emeritus of Howard University College of Dentistry, where she served as dean from 1975-1991. She is an internationally renowned dental educator, administrator, researcher and clinician. 

Sinkford finished first in the dental class of 1958 at Howard University before pursuing graduate study at Northwestern University where she received her M.S. (1962) and Ph.D. (1963). She completed a pedodontic residency at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in 1975. She became the first woman dean of a dental school in the U.S. in 1975. Sinkford has more than 100 articles published in refereed journals and has written an instructional manual for Crown and Bridge Prosthodontics. From 1992 to 2011, she was responsible for the women’s and diversity programming at the American Dental Education Association (formerly, American Association of Dental Schools). Under her leadership, ADEA created numerous opportunities for the advancement of women and under-represented minorities. Sinkford holds honorary degrees from the University of Michigan, Meharry Medical College, Georgetown University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the University of Detroit Mercy. She has received Alumni Achievement Awards from Northwestern University and Howard University and numerous other citations for exceptional professional achievement. Sinkford was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1975. She is a life member in the American Dental Association and was elected in 2012 to life membership in the National Dental Association. 

Michael R. Winston, Ph.D., is a historian and academic administrator. Winston was appointed to the Howard University faculty in 1964. Two years later, he became associate director of the Institute for Services to Education, which developed the National Upward Bound Program for the Office of Economic Opportunity during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration.  In 1968, Winston returned to Howard as assistant dean of the College of Liberal Arts, and later, as director of Research in the Department of History. From 1973 to 1983, he was director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, where he established the Manuscript Division, Research Department, Oral History Department, the University Archives and the Howard University Museum. He became vice president for Academic Affairs in 1983 and retired from Howard in 1990. In 1992, he became vice president of the Alfred Harcourt Foundation followed by president in 1993 until retiring in 2008. Howard’s Interim President, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, appointed Winston as academic counsel in 2013 and then provost and chief academic officer from 2014 to 2015. Winston retired a year later.

Winston earned a bachelor’s degree in history, magna cum laude, from Howard University in 1962. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, obtaining a master’s degree in French History in 1964 and the Ph.D. in European History in 1974. In 2008, Rollins College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

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For media information, contact Alonda Thomas via alonda.thomas@howard.edu.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, more than 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.