University News | May 26, 2011

Video: tenor and honorand Placido Domingo serenades Ruth Bader Ginsburg

At Commencement, tenor and honorand Plácido Domingo surprises Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an opera fan, during the conferral of her degree.

**Plácido Domingo and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg** | Photograph by Stu Rosner

At the Morning Exercises, Harvard President Drew Faust conferred an honorary degree on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, L ’59. Fellow honorand Plácido Domingo sang the end of the conferral to her. View a video here:

Read about all this year's honorary degree recipients, or browse our complete coverage of Commencement 2011.

You might also like

At Harvard’s IOP, Two Views of Diversity Get a Hearing

Professor Cornell William Brooks and Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts hold a lively debate on DEI and Project 2025.

Harvard Graduate Students Union Begins Strike Authorization Vote

Amid contract negotations, two unions are discussing a joint walkout this fall.

Johnston Gate at Harvard University with green foliage behind it

The Harvard AI Debate Heats Up

The University has pushed the adoption of AI into teaching and operations, but faculty resistance is growing louder.

Most popular

Deforestation Damages Even the Rainforests That Survive It

The world needs tropical forests—but rainforest destruction continues unabated, and it may be even worse than you thought.

Three Harvard Alumni and a Former Postdoc Named MacArthur Fellows

A labor economist, an organic chemist, a physicist, and a memory researcher were honored with 2026 “genius” grants.

Image courtesy of the Harvard University Herbaria/The Farlow Library of Cryptogamic Botany

Farlow Library exhibit on deadly Amanita mushrooms and mycological illustration

The Farlow Library's new online exhibits highlight the death cap mushroom and mycological illustration.

Explore More From Current Issue

Decorative wrought iron gate framed by leafy branches, captured in sepia tones.

Former Indiana University president Thomas Ehrlich looks back on curriculum, co-education, and other major trends.

Smiling woman stands beside a large skull in a display cabinet.

Faculty

From competing in youth gymnastics to studying tetrapods, the Harvard curator has always chased her curiosity.

Three young women posed side by side against red background.

Students

The 2026-2027 Ledecky and Summer Undergraduate Fellows