Three Cheers

A salute to a writer and two artists who served readers especially well in 2022

We’re proud to recognize three contributors to Harvard Magazine for outstanding work on readers’ behalf during 2022, and to confer a $1,000 honorarium on each.


Lincoln Caplan
Photograph by Susan L. Carney

The McCord Writing Prize (honoring David T.W. McCord ’21, A.M. ’22, L.H.D. ’56, and his prose and verse composed for the magazine and the Harvard College Fund) goes to contributing editor and journalist Lincoln Caplan ’72, J.D. ’76, a visiting lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale Law School. He profiled Radcliffe Institute dean and civil rights historian Tomiko Brown-Nagin (January-February) and Elena Kagan, associate justice of the Supreme Court (November-December; see reader reactions, beginning on page 2); reviewed important books on the Constitution (January-February) and Justice Felix Frankfurter (September-October); and provided same-day analysis of the oral argument in the affirmative action admissions case now being decided by the Court (see harvardmag.com/admissions-arguments-22)—an astonishingly productive year in these pages.


Matthew G. Wood
Photograph courtesy of Matthew G. Wood

Nancy Walecki’s reporting on economic mobility (“The Upward Mobility Problem,” May-June) led to East Mississippi Community College and the Golden Triangle Development nonprofit in that state. University of Alabama photographer Matthew G. Wood captured riveting portraits of Gary Jones and Fabian Ryan, whose studies are equipping them for in-demand careers. These powerful images underlined the connection between Harvard scholars’ research on community colleges and the very real-world implications, from Mississippi to Boston’s Bunker Hill. We salute Wood for his work behind the lens.


Dan Page
Photograph courtesy of Dan Page

Illustrator Dan Page, based near Toronto, is unusually adept at bringing abstract ideas to visual life. We have featured his work numerous times, including past cover assignments, and are pleased to honor him, again, for his creative, clear depiction of long COVID as an enveloping labyrinth in the instantly recognizable shape of a coronavirus—the September-October cover art accompanying Jonathan Shaw’s feature.

It was a pleasure to publish their distinguished work, and we are delighted to thank these superb professionals.

—The Editors

Related topics

You might also like

A theatrical reenactment explores a 1976 clash between science and democracy.

Readers Respond to Our Adaptations Survey

We asked people to share their favorite art adaptations. Here’s what they said.

The Harvard Arts Medalist wants his smash-hit Cats revival to reach “as many young queer people” as possible.

Most popular

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

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

Explore More From Current Issue

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

Colorful abstract design resembling an octopus with intricate swirls and patterns.

Growing liver implants, mapping the sense of smell, and journalism at risk

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.