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
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
How J. Max Bond Jr. Honored Black History Through Architecture
A new book explores the Harvard-trained architect’s vision and impact, from Ground Zero to the Smithsonian.
Jack Reardon and Walter Cabot, Remembered
Plus, veteran higher education leader Thomas Ehrlich reflects on university curricula for his 70th reunion
How Facebook Escaped Harvard
In 2004, a frenzy spread across Harvard Yard in days. Four billion users later, we are only just catching up.
Most popular
Explore More From Current Issue
The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex.
Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.
In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.