Jacksonville University
Doctor of Humane Letters
October 14, 1994

Michael Novak, scholar, journalist, social critic, and teacher has influenced leaders from around the world with his revolutionary insights into the spiritual foundation of economic and political systems…. His most influential work has been The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, which primed leaders in Latin America, and Eastern Europe, and England to think about the morality of free-market reforms….

Known for his extraordinary religious scholarship, prophetic social commentary, and striking intellectual independence, Michael Novak’s articulation of the moral ideals of democratic capitalism have secured his place in the world as one of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century.