 Seated with President Richard C. Levin (front, center) are honorary degree recipients Willie Mays, David Baltimore, Wangari Maathai and Tom Wolfe (front row, from left ) and Jan Assmann, Nannerl Keohane, Dr. Bernard Fisher and Lee Friedlander (back row, from left). |
Eight outstanding individuals were awarded honorary degrees at the Commencement ceremony on May 24. The names of this year's honorands and their citations follow.
You have illuminated the mystery of the Egyptian mind, using modern methods to explore an ancient world. Your approach is now a model for scholars in fields far beyond Egyptology. You have sought the meaning of memory in historical transmission, looking for those forces that lead to the selective preservation and cultivation of events. Your work as an archaeologist, excavating the graves of the pharaohs, is accompanied by the way you have unearthed the intellect of those long dead. For enriching historical study with your seminal theory of cultural and collective memory, we are honored to bestow on you the degree of Doctor of Social Science.
As president of Wellesley College for 12 years and president of Duke University for the last 11, you have been one of the few in our country's history who has been a transformational leader of two of the nation's major institutions. Teaching and leading by your own example, you have used your two campuses as settings for ethical education in the richest sense of the phrase. We are proud that you are a daughter of Yale and are honored to salute your leadership by granting you a second Yale doctorate, Doctor of Humane Letters.
You frame the pictures of everyday life in unflinching detail, capturing images of people and places with an uncritical honesty that evokes response from every viewer. With a kind of factual artistry, you have helped us see our own time and the people who populate it in new ways. Yours is an extraordinary body of work -- never casually made nor repetitive -- with tens of thousands of photographs, all taken and produced by your own hand and eye. You are one of the most influential photographers of the art world, and we are pleased to name you Doctor of Fine Arts.
On the 50th anniversary of your famous catch, we salute you as the greatest all-around player in the history of America's national game. You could hit, hit with power, run, field and throw with the best. You radiated enthusiasm -- running so fast in pursuit of fly balls that your hat would fly off your head, swinging the bat so hard that you would almost fall to the ground when you missed. Three players have hit more home runs, but no one ever loved the game more. Your passion for baseball made you a joy to watch; your grace, power and speed made you a pleasure to behold. We are honored to award you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Nearly three decades ago, you won the Nobel Prize for research that changed our understanding of the flow of genetic information. By showing that genetic material in viruses could travel from RNA to DNA, you shed light on the study of cancer and HIV. Even as your science flourished, the scope of your contributions has broadened. As president of Caltech, you have become a leading voice for the public support of science and engineering, and a wise counselor on the social implications of research related to AIDS and stem cells. For your path-breaking research and your advocacy of science, we are honored to bestow the degree of Doctor of Science.
As one of the creators of the New Journalism, you have been a master of its style, reporting the modern world in all its wonder and particularity. With an uncanny eye for trends and an artist's way with words, you have captured the essence of the era -- the right stuff of the Space Age, the Me generation of the 70s, the bonfire of excess in the 80s. Respected and renowned for your journalism and novels, you are one of Yale's own, and we are proud to name you Doctor of Letters.
More than anyone else, you have transformed the treatment of breast cancer, restoring hope and health to countless women. Your research has created new paradigms of care -- refining surgical procedures, drug therapy and approaches to prevention. You demonstrated the need for systemic treatment and pioneered the use of drugs to prevent cancer in women at high risk. And you have been steadfast in your advocacy of funding for clinical studies of this complex disease. We join the women whose lives you have saved in expressing our gratitude, as we award you the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences.
When you began planting trees, you were also planting seeds of hope -- hope for the environment and hope for self-sufficiency. From a small nursery in your backyard, you launched the Green Belt Movement that has produced and preserved forests in East Africa. You are fearless in your defense of the environment, the poor, women and human rights. You have been willing to risk attack and have suffered unjust imprisonment. As you have transformed the physical landscape, you are also transforming the political landscape with your election to the Kenyan Parliament. We are proud to name you Doctor of Humane Letters.
T H I S
Honorary Degrees
JAN ASSMANN
DOCTOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
NANNERL KEOHANE
DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS
LEE FRIEDLANDER
DOCTOR OF FINE ARTS
WILLIE MAYS
DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS
DAVID BALTIMORE
DOCTOR OF SCIENCE
TOM WOLFE
DOCTOR OF LETTERS
BERNARD FISHER
DOCTOR OF MEDICAL SCIENCES
WANGARI MAATHAI
DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University celebrates its 303rd graduationLevin calls for U.S. to change student visa policies
International arts festival returns to New Haven
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPSAnthony Kronman is appointed Sterling Professor of Law
Paul Gilroy is designated as the Charlotte Marion Saden Professor
Joan Panetti named the Sylvia and Leonard Marx Jr. Adjunct Professor
New campus programs will cut costs and boost efficiency
Installation at city's historical society features tales about urban renewal
Show recalls Victorians' attempts to capture nature's wonders
Exhibit spotlights works by one of Britain's most neglected artists
Medical and nursing schools to host alumni reunions
Yale and state officials consider ways to promote smoking cessation
Poll shows state of the environment a concern for voters
Scientists identify molecule that causes irreversible nerve damage in MS
F&ES symposium will examine effects of forest certification
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home