| Andres Segovia | 3 February 1975 |
| Paul Green | 7 April 1976 |
| Itzhak Perlman | 8 February 1980 |
| Agnes DeMille | 25 April 1980 |
| Rosemary Harris | 25 April 1980 |
| Nananne Porcher | 25 April 1980 |
| Oliver Smith | 25 April 1980 |
| William Schuman | 25 April 1980 |
| Gordon Hanes | 25 April 1980 |
| Jose Ferrer | 25 April 1980 |
| Helen Hayes | 11 May 1981 |
| Arthur Mitchell | 6 November 1981 |
| John Ehle | 6 November 1981 |
| McNeil Lowry | 1 June 1985 |
| Maya Angelou | 7 November 1986 |
| Menahem Pressler | 7 November 1986 |
| Alice Tully | 7 November 1986 |
| William Friday | 30 May 1987 |
| R. Philip Hanes | 30 May 1987 |
| Julia Daniels | 30 May 1992 |
| Debbie Allen | 30 May 1992 |
| Duncan Noble | 20 May 1993 |
| Jane Alexander | 20 May 1994 |
| Irina Baranova | 8 March 1996 |
| Mandy Patinkin | 2 June 2001 |
| Dr. James Semans | 2 June 2001 |
| Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans | 2 June 2001 |
| Thomas S. Kenan III | 1 June 2002 |
| Alexander C. Ewing | 31 May 2003 |
| Helen "Copey" Hanes | 31 May 2003 |
| Twyla Tharp | 31 May 2003 |
| Forest Whitaker | 29 May 2004 |
| Jackson D. Wilson Jr. | 29 May 2004 |
| Desmond Heeley | 28 May 2005 |
| Paul Sills | 28 May 2005 |
| Lynn Brenner Eisenberg | 28 May 2005 |
| Robert Lindgren | 3 June 2006 |
| Arthur Laurents | 3 June 2006 |
| F. Hudnall Christopher | 3 June 2006 |
| Claire Penn Christopher | 3 June 2006 |
| Rebecca Walker | 2 June 2007 |
| Danny Elfman | 2 June 2007 |
| Ming Cho Lee | 31 May 2008 |
| Jesus Moroles | 31 May 2008 |
| J. T. Rogers | 30 May 2009 |
| Kristin Chenoweth | 30 May 2009 |
| Angus MacLachlan | 29 May 2010 |
| Peter Bogdanovich | 29 May 2010 |
| Alan Menken | 28 May 2011 |
| David Rambo | 6 May 2012 |
| Julie Kent | 19 May 2012 |
| Jerry Nadal | 4 May 2013 |
| Thomas Schumacher | 18 May 2013 |
| Benjamin Ward | 10 May 2014 |
| Gillian Murphy | 17 May 2014 |
| Cheryl Boone Isaacs | 9 May 2015 |
| David LaChapelle | 16 May 2015 |
| Kelli O'Hara | 7 May 2016 |
| Helen Pickett | 14 May 2016 |
| Nancy Seruto | 6 May 2017 |
| Tim Guinee | 13 May 2017 |
| Paul Tazewell | 5 May 2018 |
| Katreese Barnes | 18 May 2018 |
| Mary-Mitchell Campbell | 4 May 2019 |
| Desmond Richardson | 18 May 2019 |