2020 GSAS Centennial Medalists

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ honorands

Pictured are Stephen Cook, Albert Fishlow, Helen Vendler, and Margaret Kivelson

Clockwise from top left: Stephen Cook, Albert Fishlow, Helen Vendler, and Margaret Kivelson. 
Photographs courtesy of Harvard 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 GSAS bestows, and awardees include some of Harvard’s most accomplished alumni. The 2020 recipients, announced on May 27, are: Stephen Cook, Ph.D. ’66, a computational theorist and mathematician; Albert Fishlow, Ph.D. ’63, a development economist and historian; Margaret Kivelson ’50, Ph.D. ’57, RI ’66, a space and planetary physicist; and Helen Vendler, Ph.D. ’60, Porter University Professor emerita, beloved Harvard teacher and poetry critic. For more about the honorands, see harvardmag.com/centennial-20.

You might also like

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

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

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.

Most popular

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

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

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

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.

A busy classroom filled with students working at computers, colorful decor, and a bright atmosphere.

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

Modern building with large glass windows, surrounded by greenery and pedestrians.

A roundup of University news from the summer of 2026