Honoring Harvard Magazine contributors

Recognizing outstanding authors and artists for serving our readers

It is our privilege to salute four outstanding contributors to Harvard Magazine for their work on our readers’ behalf during 2017, and and to confer on each a $1,000 honorarium.


Michael Zuckerman
Photograph by Leslie Brown

Michael Zuckerman ’10, J.D. ’17—past president of the Harvard Law Review, now clerking for a federal judge in Ohio—combines analytical rigor with unusually fluid prose. We were fortunate to publish “Criminal Injustice” (September-October), his penetrating feature on public-interest lawyer Alec Karakatsanis, J.D. ’08, and are proud to award him the McCord Writing Prize, honoring David T.W. McCord ’21, A.M. ’22, L.H.D. ’56, and his legendary prose and verse, composed for these pages and the Harvard College Fund. We recognized Zuckerman previously, with the Smith-Weld Prize for 2014—a testament to his broad, deep strengths.


Richard D. Kahlenberg
Photograph courtesy of Richard D. Kahlenberg

Richard D. Kahlenberg ’85, J.D. ’89, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, is recognized nationwide for comprehensive analyses of affirmative action, admissions, and equity in higher education.  “Harvard’s Class Gap” (May-June) combined that expertise with personal insight in a feature strongly grounded in the University today. We honor his article with the Smith-Weld Prize (in memory of A. Calvert Smith ’14, a former secretary to the governing boards and executive assistant to President James Bryant Conant, and of Philip S. Weld ’36, a former president of the magazine), which highlights thought-provoking writing about Harvard.

 


Davide Bonazzi
Photograph courtesy of Davide Bonazzi

Maciek Nabrdalik
Photograph by Wojciech Grzedzinski

Davide Bonazzi provided exceptionally thoughtful, engaging illustrations to accompany “The Watchers” (January-February), a feature on threats to privacy in the digital era—an unusually challenging assignment that required making tangible the abstract, virtual concepts being reported. And the portfolio of images of refugees, featured in “In Flight” (January-February)—a sampling of the work of Warsaw-based documentary photographer Maciek Nabrdalik, then resident as a Nieman Foundation fellow—remains a haunting record of a continuing humanitarian tragedy. It is a special pleasure to work with such expert, consummate professionals, and to recognize their extraordinary craftsmanship.

The Editors

Related topics

You might also like

Ruth J. Simmons Receives the 2026 Radcliffe Medal

Michelle Obama, Drew Gilpin Faust, and others paid tribute to the pioneering educator during Harvard’s Radcliffe Day festivities. 

Harvard Elects New Overseers, HAA Directors

Leaders for the governing board and alumni association were chosen by an alumni vote.

Mychal Threets Brings ‘Library Joy’ to Harvard

The librarian and social media star gave the keynote address for Harvard Graduate School of Education’s convocation.

Most popular

Ronny Chieng Tells Harvard to ‘Destroy AI’ as Graduates Cheer

The comedian and The Daily Show host gave the keynote address for Class Day 2026.

Harvard Confers Five Honorary Degrees at the 2026 Commencement

O’Brien joins journalists, a scholar of AI, and a Broadway star.

Commencement Day with Conan O’Brien

The comedian headlined a star-studded cast for Harvard’s 375th Commencement exercises.

Explore More From Current Issue

Colorful illustrated map of Colonial Cambridge and the Harvard College campus featuring buildings of the campus, houses, Cambridge Common, and the Charles River

250 Years Ago, Harvard Was Home to a Revolution

A look at the sights, sounds, and characters that put the University on the frontlines of history

Mercy Otis Warren in period attire writes at a desk by candlelight, surrounded by books.

The Woman Who Penned the Case for War

Mercy Otis Warren’s poetry and plays incited the Patriot movement.

Historical scene in colonial Boston depicting British soldiers confronting civilians, with smoke rising, in a city street.

Houghton Library Displays Revolution-era News and Propaganda

A new exhibit reveals how early Americans learned about the war.