Honors at Vanderbilt University

James Lawson never formally earned a degree from Vanderbilt University, but was honored in 1996 with the first Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Divinity School. In 2005, he was named a Vanderbilt University Distinguished Alumnus by the Alumni Association. He garnered additional honors in 2006 and 2007, returning to the University as a Distinguished Professor and seeing the establishment of the James M. Lawson Jr. Chair. On April 7, 2022, the Vanderbilt Divinity School and the College of Arts and Science launched the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements. 

[Portrait of James M. Lawson]
Simmie Knox, 2018
Vanderbilt University Trailblazers Portrait Series

“Chaos or Community: The Legacies of MLK”
Program, January 6-20, 2006
Vanderbilt University Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Series
James M. Lawson, Jr. Papers
Vanderbilt University Special Collections

[Letter to James M. Lawson]
Gordon Gee
March 28, 2007
James M. Lawson, Jr. Papers
Vanderbilt University Special Collections

“The Launch of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements”
Program, April 7, 2022
Vanderbilt University Archives