Alumni | June 16, 2014

Harvard honors societal contributions

Graduate school alumni receive highest honors

From The July-August 2014 Issue

**Clockwise from far left: Judith Lasker, Bruce Alberts, Leo Marx, and Keith Christiansen** | Photograph by Bethany Versoy/courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Science

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.

Published in the July-August 2014 print issue under the headline “Centennial Medalists,” in the Alumni section.

You might also like

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

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

David Battat promotes alumni engagement.

A vibrant illustration of a red car parked, surrounded by cheerful people and historic buildings.

Derek Bok donated his car for a good cause.

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.

Two laboratory researchers, one seated and one standing, in a scientific lab with equipment.

The stakes are high for this husband and wife: one of them will die if they don’t find a cure.

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.

Explore More From Current Issue

Portrait of a man in a denim shirt beside a blue book cover for "Gretal and the Great War" featuring an illustration of a leg holding an army helmet..

Arts & Culture

The Gretel and the Great War author on how the Lampoon derailed his science career—and set him on a literary path.

Caricature of a young man in front of red doors, wearing a green striped sweater.

Harvard History

In 1954, Gregory Corso moved into Eliot House. How he stayed there is a literary legend.

A smiling William C. Kirby in a suit with glasses stands outdoors, surrounded by greenery.

Editor’s Letter

The president of Harvard Magazine’s Board of Directors will step down in September.