Harvard honors societal contributions

Graduate school alumni receive highest honors

Clockwise from far left: Judith Lasker, Bruce Alberts, Leo Marx, and Keith Christiansen

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 2014 recipients, announced at a ceremony on May 28, are: Bruce Alberts, Ph.D. ’66, Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in biochemistry and biophysics for science and education at the University of California, San Francisco; Keith Christiansen, Ph.D. ’77, Pope-Hennessy chairman of the department of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Judith Lasker, Ph.D. ’76, the N.E.H. Distinguished Professor of sociology at Lehigh University; and Leo Marx ’41, Ph.D. ’50, Kenan professor of American cultural history emeritus in MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society. For more about the honorands, see https://harvardmagazine.com/2014/05/centennial-medalists.

You might also like

A New Prescription for Youth Mental Health

Kenyan entrepreneur Tom Osborn ’20 reimagines care for a global crisis.

The Artist Edward Gorey—and Pets—at Harvard

Winter exhibits at Houghton Library   

A (Truly) Naked Take on Second-Wave Feminism

Playwright Bess Wohl’s Liberation opens on Broadway.

Most popular

Harvard Announces Four University Professors

Catherine Dulac, Noah Feldman, Claudia Goldin, and Cumrun Vafa receive the University’s highest faculty distinction.

The Origins of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages

A small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Explore More From Current Issue

Map showing Uralic populations in Eurasia, highlighting regional distribution and historical sites.

The Origins of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages

A small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

A diverse group of adults and children holding hands, standing on varying levels against a light blue background.

Why America’s Strategy For Reducing Racial Inequality Failed

Harvard professor Christina Cross debunks the myth of the two-parent Black family.

Wolfram Schlenker wearing a suit sitting outdoors, smiling, with trees and a building in the background.

Harvard Economist Wolfram Schlenker Is Tackling Climate Change

How extreme heat affects our land—and our food supply