Four leaders in the fields of athletics, business, astrophysics and medicine are being recommended for honorary degrees at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus’ 2025 Spring Commencement.
Derek Jeter, a Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player, entrepreneur and philanthropist, will be the main speaker at the May 3 ceremony at Michigan Stadium. He has been recommended for an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Others recommended for honorary degrees are:
- Jeffrey E. Cappo, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Doctor of Laws.
- France A. Córdova, academic leader and acclaimed astrophysicist, Doctor of Science.
- Victor J. Dzau, distinguished physician and medical researcher, Doctor of Science.
Dzau will deliver the address at the Rackham Graduate Exercises on May 2.
The Board of Regents will consider the degree recipients for approval at its March 20 meeting. The following biographical descriptions were drawn from information provided by University and Development Events.
Derek Jeter
In 2014, when Derek Jeter retired from baseball after a 20-year career, he’d become one of the sport’s most respected players.
He won five World Series with the New York Yankees, received 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards and five Silver Slugger Awards, and was a member of the sport’s exclusive 3,000-hit club. In 2000, he became the only player named both the All-Star Game and World Series MVP in the same year.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Jeter was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020.
Jeter grew up in Michigan and, in 1992, was enrolled at U-M before being selected by the Yankees in that year’s draft. He subsequently left the university to pursue his baseball career. In 1994, Jeter was named Minor League Player of the Year, and in 1996 he earned MLB’s American League Rookie of the Year award by a unanimous vote.
Also in 1996, Jeter and his father founded the Turn 2 Foundation, which creates programming to help young people turn away from drugs and alcohol and “turn 2” healthier choices. To date, the foundation has awarded more than $45 million in grants, rewarding academic excellence, leadership development and positive behavior.
In his post-baseball career, Jeter has successfully pursued a variety of business ventures. He launched The Players’ Tribune, an online platform for athletes to publish their own stories, as well as Jeter Publishing, an imprint in partnership with Simon & Schuster that has produced several New York Times bestsellers. He also joined the “MLB on FOX” team and launched Cap 2 Productions, an entertainment company that produces inspiring, family-friendly programming.
From 2017-22, Jeter served as part-owner and CEO of MLB’s Miami Marlins, and was the first Black man to serve in this role for any Major League team.
Jeffrey E. Cappo
Salesman and entrepreneur Jeffrey E. Cappo began his career as a door-to-door salesman for Kirby vacuum cleaners, finding success and building connections quickly. Next, he set his sights on car sales and, at Ann Arbor’s Varsity Ford, became a top salesman.
Early on, Cappo also invested in student housing and small businesses, and later purchased his first car dealership in Morristown, Tennessee, where he founded what would become Victory Automotive. With headquarters now in Canton, Michigan, Victory Automotive Group has expanded to 60 locations across 12 states.
In addition to creating a thriving business, Cappo has long been a champion of educational equity. He established the Victory Program at Country Day World School in Largo, Florida, which serves children with autism; funds need-based scholarships for students in Michigan and California; and supports Michigan Medicine’s Doctors of Tomorrow program, which encourages students from underrepresented communities in Detroit to pursue careers in healthcare.
Finally, Cappo is a dedicated philanthropist who has helped fund healthcare causes, including cancer research, life-saving developments in transplantation and cardiology, and work that seeks to improve healthcare safety and quality. Cappo’s generosity also extends to U-M, where he supports several athletic scholarships, started the Cappo Sales Track, and created the Cappo Family Professorship of Business Administration at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
Throughout his career, Cappo has demonstrated an unwavering passion for fostering learning environments that are inclusive, innovative and accessible to all.
France A. Córdova
France A. Córdova has long been at the forefront of science and technology. She has served as the director of the National Science Foundation, NASA’s chief scientist, and president of Purdue University.
Córdova earned an undergraduate degree in English from Stanford University in her home state of California. In 1969, her interest in science was inspired by the Apollo 11 moonwalk, and she pursued a doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology.
After graduating from Caltech in 1979, Córdova became a staff scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Earth and Space Sciences division, studying white dwarfs and pulsars. In 1989, Córdova left to become head of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State University. In 1993, she became the first female chief scientist at NASA and eventually earned a Distinguished Service Medal, NASA’s highest honor.
Following her time at NASA, Córdova worked as a physics professor and vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Santa Barbara, from 1996-2002; and she served as chancellor and physics and astronomy professor at the University of California, Riverside, until 2007. At Riverside, Córdova helped lay the foundation for California’s first public medical school in more than 40 years.
In 2007, Córdova became the first woman to serve as Purdue University’s president. While there, she raised more than $1 billion in private gifts, including a $300 million Access and Success scholarship campaign to serve high-achieving, low- and middle-income students.
Córdova has served in government during five presidential administrations and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as director of the National Science Foundation in 2014. Currently, she serves as president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance.
Victor J. Dzau
A distinguished physician and medical researcher, Victor J. Dzau has served as president of the National Academy of Medicine and vice chair of the National Research Council since 2014. He is also the first person of color and first immigrant to lead one of the three academies that make up the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Born in Shanghai during the Communist Revolution, Dzau’s family fled to Hong Kong to escape the conflict. His early experience with poverty and health inequity influenced him to pursue a career in medicine. Dzau received both his undergraduate degree and M.D. from McGill University.
Recognized for his contributions to cardiovascular medicine and genetics, Dzau’s research helped with the development of ACE inhibitors, lifesaving drugs that treat high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and kidney disease. He also pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease.
At the National Academy of Medicine, Dzau launched initiatives, including the Global Health Risk Framework, Human Genome Editing Initiative, and Grand Challenge in Climate Change and Human Health and Equity. He also co-founded Duke University’s Global Health Institute, Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Division of Global Health Equity, and Duke’s National University of Singapore School of Medicine.
Dzau’s leadership roles have included professor and chairman of medicine at Harvard and Stanford, chancellor emeritus for health affairs at Duke, and CEO of the Duke University Health System. At the National Institutes of Health, Dzau served on the director’s Advisory Committee and chaired the Cardiovascular Disease Advisory Committee.
Dzau has received numerous awards, including the Gustav Nylin Medal from the Swedish Royal College of Medicine; the Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association; and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He also has received 21 honorary doctorates and was a member of U-M’s Health Board.
