Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Honors 2015 Centennial Medalists

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences honors four distinguished alumni.

From left: Robert Richardson, Gordon Wood, Louise Ryan, and Wade Davis

From left: Robert Richardson, Gordon Wood, Louise Ryan, and Wade Davis | Photograph by Tony Rinaldo/Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

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 2015 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 27, are: Wade Davis ’75, Ph.D. ’86, an ethnographer, ethnobotanist, writer, photographer, and filmmaker; Robert Richardson ’56, Ph.D. ’61, an American historian and biographer; Louise Ryan, Ph.D. ’83, head of the maths and information-sciences division at Australia’s national science agency; and Gordon Wood, Ph.D. ’64, Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus, at Brown University. For more about the honorands, see harvardmag.com/centennial-15.

Related topics

You might also like

The Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum reunites for a 50th anniversary tour around France.

He was Harvard’s quintessential people person.

The former economics concentrator brings his talent for crunching numbers to netminding.

Most popular

All That’s Unseen charts the Harvard graduate’s uneasy journey from Appalachia to Cambridge and back.  

Harvard art historian Jennifer Roberts teaches the value of immersive attention

Teaching students the value of deceleration and immersive attention

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

Katie O’Dair in academic regalia holds a ceremonial staff outdoors at a graduation ceremony.

How Katie O’Dair makes kings, comedians, and parents feel welcome on campus.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.

Harvey Mansfield seated in a bright yellow chair, surrounded by bookshelves and cozy decor.

The retired government professor has been a rare conservative voice on campus for decades.