Graduate School Dean Susan Hockfield (center) is pictured with the four alumni of the school who received this year's Wilbur Cross Medal (from left) David Price, Linda Gordon, Sharon Long and Julia McNamara. The medal is named after a former Graduate School dean who also served as a Connecticut governor.

Wilbur Cross Medals

The Graduate School Alumni Association awarded its highest honor, the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal, to four individuals at this year's Commencement Convocation on May 26. The medal is named for the former Yale Graduate School dean and statesman. Cross was a scholar, editor, academic administrator and, after his retirement from Yale, governor of Connecticut for four terms. This year's recipients were: Linda Gordon '70 Ph.D., History Gordon, a professor at New York University (NYU), is considered one of the most important scholars in the field of American history, women's history and social policy today. Her recent book, "The Great Arizona Orphan Abduction," an examination of adoption and ethnic tension in early 20th-century America, won both academic prizes and general acclaim. Before joining the faculty of NYU in 1999, she held an endowed chair at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she taught for 15 years. Her life's work has "reshaped the way historians generally, and American historians, specifically, think about gender, family, violence and social policy," notes one colleague. Another says Gordon "has an extraordinary capacity to treat issues of contemporary concern with historical insight and intellectual acuity." Sharon Long '79 Ph.D., Biology Long is dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford, where she holds an endowed chair in biological sciences. After completing her degree in plant developmental biology at Yale, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. In 1981, she joined the faculty of Stanford, where she has done ground-breaking research in symbiotic biological nitrogen fixation and contributed significantly to the analysis of reciprocal signaling between plant and bacterium. Long "has achieved distinction in scholarship, teaching, academic administration and public service," note her colleagues. Her honors include a MacArthur Prize Fellowship, membership in the National Academy of Sciences and awards for outstanding teaching. Julia McNamara '80 Ph.D., French McNamara has led Albertus Magnus College in New Haven through an extraordinary period of renewal and growth since she became its president in 1982. Under her tenure, Albertus Magnus became coeducational after 60 years as a women's college, and it greatly expanded its facilities and programs. In addition, McNamara is an energetic community leader. She has served as chair of the Yale New Haven Health System and contributed her talents to the boards of many organizations, including Yale-New Haven Hospital and the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. She has served on several state commissions, appointed by the governor. David Price '64 B.Div.; '69 Ph.D., Political Science Price is a scholar, a statesman and a friend of higher education. He has represented the 4th District of North Carolina in Congress since 1986 (with the exception of one term), and has been a strong advocate for higher education and the research community all through that period. He is a leader among Yale alumni in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he is a member of the Appropriations and Budget committees. Before launching his political career, he taught at Yale (1969-1973) and has been on the faculty of Duke University since 1973. He is author of "The Congressional Experience: A View from the Hill" and "Who Makes the Laws? Creativity and Power in Senate Committees," as well as numerous articles. C O M M E N C E M E N T2 0 0 2 Yale Celebrates 301st Graduation Baccalaureate Address Honorary Degrees Senior Class Day Teaching Prizes Scholastic Prizes David Everett Chantler Prize Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize Elliott and Mallory Athletic Awards Robert E. Lewis Award for Intramural Sports Wilbur Cross Medals Other Undergraduate Awards and Honors Graduate Student Awards and Honors Commencement Photos T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Yale Celebrates 301st Graduation Biodiversity expert named new director of Peabody Renowned architect Maya Lin elected to Yale Corporation Two faculty members named to Sterling professorships Classicist and historian Donald Kagan Chemist Peter Moore Drama School/Yale Rep to receive 2002 Governor's Arts Award Two pioneering researchers are elected to the NAS Peptide promotes nerve growth in damaged spinal cords Exhibit shows how publisher 'cooks up' his books Yale to join Elm City in celebration of world's arts & ideas Nursing school marks retirement of its former dean Center honors former director Dr. Donald Cohen Divinity dean Rebecca Chopp steps down Schools of Medicine, Nursing host class reunions Library's Franklin Papers and Fortunoff Archive win NEH grants Undergraduates named Dean's Research Fellows City's downtown will heat up with 'hot sounds' this summer Yale professor granted award to study TSC Bulldogs aim to out-row Crimsons in 150th regatta Artist who portrays black life in the rural South to discuss his work . . . 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