Gifford Combs misses his thirty-third Commencement

A broken ankle snaps a Commencement streak.

Even in the hospital, Gifford Combs celebrated Commencement.

Gifford Combs ’80 took an unfortunate tumble on some steps in midtown Manhattan a week and a half before Commencement, breaking his left ankle in two places. He has been hospitalized since.

Because Combs had attended every Commencement since the spring of his freshman year (except in 1982, when he was living in China), his Weld Hall and Eliot House roommate, David Scheinberg ’80, offered to recruit a team of classmates to wheel Combs and his hospital bed into Tercentenary Theatre for today’s ceremony. Combs decided he’d better stay in bed in New York, where his ankle is on the mend, but the photograph he forwarded shows where his heart lies. And, he reported, his surgeon, John P. Lyden ’61, is in Cambridge this week, celebrating his fiftieth reunion.

 

Related topics

You might also like

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

A Congenial Voice in Japanese-American Relations

Takashi Komatsu spent his life building bridges. 

Yesterday’s News

A co-ed experiment that changed dorm life forever

Most popular

Tina Fey and Robert Carlock Talk Collaboration, Joke-Building at Harvard

The duo behind 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt shared insights as part of the Learning from Performers series.

Former Homeland Security Chief Says ICE and CBP Have “Lost Their Way”

At Kennedy School talk, Jeh Johnson advocates restructuring “outdated” DHS.

Martin Nowak Sanctioned for Jeffrey Epstein Involvement

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences announces disciplinary actions.

Explore More From Current Issue

Evolutionary progression from primates to humans in a colorful illustration.

Why Humans Walk on Two Legs

Research highlights our evolutionary ancestors’ unique pelvis.

Anne Neal Petri in a navy suit leans on a wooden chair against an exterior wall of Mount Vernon..

Mount Vernon, Historic Preservation, and American Politics

Anne Neal Petri promotes George Washington and historic literacy.

A man skiing intensely in the snow, with two spectators in the background.

Introductions: Dan Cnossen

A conversation with the former Navy SEAL and gold-medal-winning Paralympic skier