Webster University graduate Valerie Patton, Class of 1982, will receive an honorary doctorate during the university’s 2026 commencement ceremony.
From 2002 to 2024, she served as chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer and president of the Greater St. Louis Foundation and Greater St. Louis Inc.
Patton holds a master’s degree from Eden Theological Seminary with an emphasis in community leadership, public advocacy and ministry in the public square, and a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
She also earned a dual master’s degree from Webster University in management and computer data management, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Howard University.