Alumni | June 16, 2015

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Honors 2015 Centennial Medalists

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences honors four distinguished alumni.

From The July-August 2015 Issue

**From left: Robert Richardson, Gordon Wood, Louise Ryan, and Wade Davis** | Photograph by Tony Rinaldo/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 study at Harvard. It is the highest honor the Graduate School bestows, and awardees include some of Harvard’s most accomplished alumni. The 2015 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 27, are: Wade Davis ’75, Ph.D. ’86, an ethnographer, ethnobotanist, writer, photographer, and filmmaker; Robert Richardson ’56, Ph.D. ’61, an American historian and biographer; Louise Ryan, Ph.D. ’83, head of the maths and information-sciences division at Australia’s national science agency; and Gordon Wood, Ph.D. ’64, Way University Professor and professor of history emeritus, at Brown University. For more about the honorands, see harvardmag.com/centennial-15.

Published in the July-August 2015 print issue under the headline “Centennial Medalists,” in the Alumni section.

You might also like

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

A smiling elderly man in glasses sits comfortably in a striped armchair.

In June, the Harvard community lost two titans who helped bring the University into the modern era.

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.

Most popular

A woman with long hair stands confidently with crossed arms next to a pickup truck.

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

Red brick building with large windows and greenery, set against a bright blue sky.

After a final round of layoffs, University leaders say 165 staff jobs were eliminated across the division.

White House and Harvard University buildings split diagonally with contrasting colors.

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

Three actors perform on stage, with one actor interacting closely with another, set against abstract backgrounds.

Arts & Culture

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

A vase of yellow flowers on a table next to an orange and a glass.

Museums & Collections

Harvard Art Museums restores a rare glimpse of an American master.

A woman with long, wavy hair wearing a white suit, seated in a bright, modern room.

Politics and Law

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex.