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.
2020 GSAS Centennial Medalists
2020 GSAS Centennial Medalists
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ honorands
Clockwise from top left: Stephen Cook, Albert Fishlow, Helen Vendler, and Margaret Kivelson.
Photographs courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
You might also like
A History of Harvard Magazine
Harvard’s independent alumni magazine—at 127 years old
A New Prescription for Youth Mental Health
Kenyan entrepreneur Tom Osborn ’20 reimagines care for a global crisis.
Meet the 2025 Harvard Alumni Association Honorands
Celebrating alumni volunteers
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
Parks and Rec Comedy Writer Aisha Muharrar Gets Serious about Grief
With Loved One, the Harvard grad and Lampoon veteran makes her debut as a novelist.
Rachel Ruysch’s Lush (Still) Life
Now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Dutch painter’s art proved a treasure trove for scientists.