Alumni | June 15, 2012

Centennial Medalists for 2012 include Aaron, Eikenberry, Hopkins, Keohane

A literary scholar, an East Asia expert, a trailblazing biologist, and a specialist on international relations are honored.

From The July-August 2012 Issue

**Top row, from left: Daniel Aaron and Karl Eikenberry. Bottom row, from left: Nancy Hopkins and Robert Keohane** | Photographs by Martha Stewart

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the school’s hundredth anniversary, honors alumni who have made notable contributions to society that emerged from their graduate study at Harvard. It is the highest honor the Graduate School bestows, and awardees include some of Harvard’s most accomplished alumni. The 2012 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 23, are: Daniel Aaron, Ph.D. ’43, Litt.D. ’07, founding president of the Library of America and Thomas professor of English and American literature emeritus at Harvard; East Asia expert Karl Eikenberry, A.M. ’81, a political and military leader who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2011; Nancy Hopkins ’64, Ph.D. ’71, a professor of biology at MIT who has blazed a trail for women in science; and international-relations scholar Robert Keohane, Ph.D. ’66, professor of public and international affairs at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School.

Published in the July-August 2012 print issue under the headline “GSAS Centennial Medalists,” in the Alumni section.

You might also like

Arched doorway with a decorative window above, labeled "University Hall," surrounded by stone.

The division is launching a new fundraising effort to support 50 additional students.

Two men hold up a red banner with "2030" written on it in white in a wood paneled room

Due to rain, the University held dual Convocation ceremonies for the Class of 2030 in Sanders Theatre.

Man wearing a suit stands at a podium and speaks into a microphone.

President Alan M. Garber used traditional Memorial Church address to consider the unique qualities of human intelligence and learning.

Most popular

Stone building with tall columns, steps leading up, and a flag atop under a cloudy sky.

The University will compensate families of those whose remains were sold and establish a scholarship to honor anatomical donors.

John Singleton Copley’s <i>A Boy with a Flying Squirrel,</i> 1765

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

A smokestack spewing smoke with a wind turbine in its shadow

China’s Excess Wind Energy

Rather than shutting down turbines, China can harness surplus wind energy to make “green” hydrogen fuel and industrial chemicals.

Explore More From Current Issue

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

Arts & Culture

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

Harvard Administration

Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.