Harvard honors societal contributions

Graduate school alumni receive highest honors

Clockwise from far left: Judith Lasker, Bruce Alberts, Leo Marx, and Keith Christiansen

Clockwise from far left: Judith Lasker, Bruce Alberts, Leo Marx, and Keith Christiansen | Photograph by Bethany Versoy/courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Science

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 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 2014 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 28, are: Bruce Alberts, Ph.D. ’66, Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in biochemistry and biophysics for science and education at the University of California, San Francisco; Keith Christiansen, Ph.D. ’77, Pope-Hennessy chairman of the department of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Judith Lasker, Ph.D. ’76, the N.E.H. Distinguished Professor of sociology at Lehigh University; and Leo Marx ’41, Ph.D. ’50, Kenan professor of American cultural history emeritus in MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. For more about the honorands, see https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/05/centennial-medalists.

You might also like

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

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

Most popular

Harvard health benefits 2016

Harvard unveils details of the employee insurance plan for next year.

Father Paul O'Brien leads a thriving Catholic parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Paul O’Brien’s tough ministry in Lawrence, Massachusetts

In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.

Explore More From Current Issue

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.

A glowing bulb shape surrounded by colorful, swirling energy lines against a blue background.

Harvard researchers achieve medical breakthroughs in cancer therapy and infection control.