Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medalists of 2016

Honorands whose contributions to society emerged from graduate study

From left: John O’Malley, Cecilia Rouse, David Mumford, and Francis Fukuyama

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 studies. It is the highest honor the Graduate School bestows, and awardees include some of Harvard’s most accomplished alumni. The 2016 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 25, are: Francis Fukuyama, Ph.D. ’81, a political scientist, political economist, and author; David Mumford ’57, Ph.D. ’61, a theoretical and applied mathematician who studies visual perception; John O’Malley, Ph.D. ’65, a priest, professor of theology, and historian of early modern Catholicism; and Cecilia Rouse ’86, Ph.D. ’92, an economist who served as adviser to two presidents and is now dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton. For more about the honorands, see harvardmag.com/centennial-16.

You might also like

The School of Public Health, Facing a Financial Reckoning, Seizes the Chance to Reinvent Itself

Dean Andrea Baccarelli plans for a smaller, more impactful Chan School of 2030.

Harvard Kennedy School Unveils American Service Fellowship

Will fund degrees for 50 public servants and military veterans

John Goldberg named Dean of Harvard Law School

A professor at HLS since 2008, he steps up from the interim role.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Explore More From Current Issue

John Goldberg

Harvard in the News

University layoffs, professors in court, and a new Law School dean

Catherine Zipf smiling, wearing striped shirt and dark sweater outdoors.

Preserving the History of Jim Crow Era Safe Havens

Architectural historian Catherine Zipf is building a database of Green Book sites.  

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio smiling beside the pink cover of her novel "Catalina" featuring a jeweled star and eye.

Being Undocumented in America

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s writing aims to challenge assumptions.