Five alumni—Charles J. “Charlie” Egan Jr. ’54, Michael E.A. Gellert ’53, Thomas W. Lentz Jr., Ph.D. ’85, Sandra Ohrn Moose, Ph.D. ’68, and Robert D. Reischauer ’63—received the 2015 Harvard Medal for “extraordinary service to the University” on May 28, during the Harvard Alumni Association’s (HAA) annual meeting on the afternoon of Commencement day. President Drew Faust read the citations, printed in italics below.
Charles J. Egan Jr. received the HAA’s David T.W. McCord ’21 Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and the College admissions office’s Hiram S. Hunn Memorial Schools and Scholarships Award in 2004. He has co-chaired the Harvard College Fund Executive Committee and led his class’s reunion-gift efforts. A former executive for Hallmark Cards Inc., Egan is a co-trustee of the Stanley H. Durwood Foundation.
Whether setting records in the pool as a student athlete or in class reunion giving as an alumnus, you are a Crimson captain through and through, leaving your hallmark on the University as president of the Harvard Alumni Association and the Harvard Club of Kansas City, co-chair of the Harvard College Fund, and a passionate supporter of athletics, financial aid, and House Renewal.
A member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Campaign Steering Committee and the FAS New York Major Gifts Committee, Michael E.A. Gellert has also been part of the Harvard College Fund Council and the Radcliffe Institute’s Tenth Anniversary Steering Committee. Gellert is a co-founder, investor, and general partner of Windcrest Partners, and the father of former HAA president Catherine “Kate” Gellert ’93.
Devoted alumnus, committed volunteer, and proud Harvard parent, you have embodied the spirit of One Harvard through your dedicated and continuing service across the University, from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to the Radcliffe Institute to the Harvard Library.
As Cabot director of the Harvard Art Museums, Thomas W. Lentz Jr. was instrumental in leading the renovation and expansion of the Harvard Art Museums, which reopened in November 2014. (He stepped down from his post at the end of this academic year.) An expert in Islamic art, Lentz earned his doctorate at Harvard.
With characteristic aplomb and vision, you led the transformation of the Harvard Art Museums, bringing three renowned institutions under one glorious glass roof, reimagining the place of art in the life of the University, and creating a teaching machine that will benefit faculty, students, and the public for generations to come.
A longtime member of the Graduate School Alumni Association Council, Sandra Ohrn Moose also established the Sandra Ohrn Family Graduate Student Dissertation Fellowship Fund in 2007. Ohrn spent her career at the Boston Consulting Group, where she is now a senior advisor; she is also president of the board of trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Trailblazer for women in business, role model for civic engagement, and catalyst for alumni involvement with decades of service to the University and to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, you have enhanced the quality of student life and empowered Harvard scholars to reach new heights of academic excellence.
Robert D. Reischauer joined the Harvard Corporation in 2002, after a six-year term on the Board of Overseers, and was pivotal in forming the governance reforms adopted in late 2010. He is now a distinguished institute fellow and president emeritus of the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.
A stalwart champion of good governance from Capitol Hill to Harvard Yard, you provided sage and savvy leadership on Harvard’s governing boards for nearly two decades, deftly guiding the Corporation as senior fellow through historic reforms that have broadened its angle of vision and sharpened its eye on the future.
