Harvard Arts and Sciences Centennial Medalists

For graduate studies that contributed to society

Head shots of the four Centennial Medalists: Lotte Bailyn, John Hutchinson, Marvin Kalb, and Margaret McIntosh

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences honorands, clockwise from top left: Lotte Bailyn, John Hutchinson, Marvin Kalb, and Margaret McIntosh

Courtesy of the 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 studies. It is the highest honor GSAS bestows, and awardees include some of Harvard’s most accomplished alumni. The 2021 recipients, announced on May 26, are: Lotte Bailyn, A.M. ’53, Ph.D. ’56, a social psychologist who studies organizational behavior; John Hutchinson, S.M. ’61, Ph.D. ’63, a mechanical engineer; Marvin Kalb, A.M. ’53, a journalist; and Margaret “Peggy” McIntosh ’56, A.M. ’61, Ph.D. ’67, an advocate for social and educational equity and diversity. 

Published in the print edition of the July-August 2021 issue (Volume 123, Number 6), under the headline “Centennial Medalists.”

You might also like

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

Harvard Research Funding Will Resume, Government Signals

Notices of grant reinstatements follow a court ruling, but the Trump administration could still appeal. 

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Is the Constitution Broken?

Harvard legal scholars debate the state of our founding national document.

Explore More From Current Issue

Nineteenth-century prison ruins with brick guardhouse surrounded by forest.

This Connecticut Mine Was Once a Prison

The underground Old New-Gate Prison quickly became “a school for crime.”

Book cover of "Black Moses" by Caleb Gayle with subtitle about ambition and the fight for a Black state.

Civil Rights in the American West

A new book chronicles one man’s quest for a Black state.

People sit in lawn chairs near a rustic barn at Cider Garden in New Salem on a sunny day.

CiderDays Festival Celebrates All Things Apple

Visiting small-batch cideries and orchards in Massachusetts