 | President Richard C. Levin (seated, center) is pictured here with this year's honorary degree recipients. They are (seated, from left) Robert Langer, Fazle H. Abed, Meyer H. Abrams and Mary-Claire King; and (standing, from left) Emanuel Ax, Peter Matthiessen, Richard Gilder, Pius N. Langa and John A. Ferejohn. |
President Richard C. Levin conferred honorary degrees at Yale's Commencement on May 28 to 10 distinguished individuals. Their names, brief descriptions and their citations follow.
Abed is founder and chair of BRAC (formerly known as Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee), which works to alleviate poverty and related suffering in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and several African countries.
Your work has improved the lives, livelihood and lifespan of many millions of Bangladeshis, particularly girls and women. Beginning by supplying seeds to farmers and fishing nets to fishermen, you created BRAC, one of the world's large humanitarian organizations, providing education, health services and financial support. With single-minded determination, you have given the poor the means to achieve economic independence, always demonstrating respect for the dignity of every citizen. Your organization is now offering hope for developing nations throughout the world. For your dedication to your country, and your pioneering work in alleviating poverty and human suffering, we are proud to award you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Abrams is professor emeritus at Cornell University, author of the seminal work "The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition" and founding editor of the "Norton Anthology of English Literature."
You are one of our greatest literary critics, possessing the rare capacity to see at once the whole and the parts, explicating both with astonishing clarity. Your masterpiece, "The Mirror and the Lamp," stands among the great monuments of modern literary scholarship, illuminating the world of English Romanticism for further interpretation by others. Your influence on scholars has been profound, and your influence upon your fortunate students has been warm, generous, and free of any desire to brand them with your own ideas or create disciples. We are honored to name you Doctor of Humanities.
Ax is one of the world's most renowned contemporary pianists, who has won seven Grammy Awards for his recordings: five for Best Chamber Peformance (playing with such luminaries as Isaac Stern and Yo-Yo Ma) and two for Best Instrumental Solo Performance without orchestra.
Widely recognized for your poetic sensitivity, pristine technique and intelligent interpretation, you are internationally acclaimed
Ferejohn, one of the leading scholars in the field of political science and a major contributor to the disciplines of law and philosophy, is the Carolyn S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow of Stanford's Hoover Institution.
One of the preeminent political scientists of our time, you have linked the humanities and the social sciences and, in so doing, given us deeper insight into our political systems. Your work shimmers with new ideas, displaying breadth and intellectual agility, while ranging from highly mathematical to historical in method. Many of your modeling techniques have become the standard for political science, and your study of Congress and the courts has given us new understanding of the workings of government and collective decision making. Students and younger scholars have benefited from your mentorship and collaboration. For your contributions to the study of politics and law, we are pleased to name you Doctor of Social Science.
A graduate of the Yale College Class of 1954, Gilder is a stockbroker and philanthropist who co-founded the Gilder Lehrman Collection, the largest private collection of U.S. historical documents, and Yale's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition.
Your passion for American history led you to create, along with your longtime friend Lewis Lehrman, the largest collection of American historical documents ever amassed by private citizens. And your generosity and patriotism then led you to make the entire collection available to the public. You are the most creative of philanthropists, envisioning and then supporting the renaissance of Central Park and the superlative renovation of and addition to the American Museum of Natural History. At Yale, you convinced your classmates to invest modest sums at the time of their 25th reunion, creating the largest 50th reunion gift in Yale's history. We are proud to count you as a son of Yale and so very pleased to express our admiration for your life's work by awarding you a second Yale degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.
Harris is an actress whose career on stage, film and television has garnered her five Tony Awards, plus a Tony for Lifetime Achievement, two Emmy Awards, and an Academy Award nomination.
You are one of the most accomplished artists in the history of the American theater. By embodying such remarkable characters as Frankie Addams, Sally Bowles, Joan of Arc, Mary Todd Lincoln and Emily Dickinson, you have enriched our understanding of the human condition, of the ways of women and of how the special living presence of a gifted actor may ennoble the legitimate age. Your brilliance is an enduring treasure: on film in "East of Eden," on television in "Knots Landing," and also in the memories of all who have seen you perform. No matter the medium, your remarkable imagination, luminous command and generosity of spirit have won you the hearts of innumerable audiences and countless collaborators. Nominated for 10 Tony awards, and winner of an unprecedented five, you are America's leading lady. We are honored that you began your study of drama at Yale and are delighted to recognize your achievements by conferring upon you the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.
King is a geneticist whose pioneering work in the genetic causes of breast cancer has transformed diagnosis and treatment of the disease and who has applied her research to matters involving both health and human rights
Your pioneering genetic research has had a profound effect on public health. Persevering in the face of skepticism, you demonstrated the existence of inherited mutations that cause breast cancer, and thus you have enabled countless women to receive needed screening, early diagnosis and preventive care. A scientist with a passion for justice, you used DNA forensics to identify stolen children in Argentina and reunite them with their families. You brought together Palestinians and Israelis to search for the causes of inherited deafness. An advocate for women in the sciences, you are a gifted teacher, researcher and role model. We are pleased to name you Doctor of Medical Sciences.
Langa is chief justice of South Africa and president of the South African Constitutional Court, who has played a major role in assisting with the judicial transformation in the country since the end of apartheid.
From humble beginnings in the yoke of apartheid, you attained the highest judicial seat in South Africa, that of chief justice of the Constitutional Court. You are deeply respected as one devoted not to party or politics, but to human dignity and the rule of law. You have worked as a guarantor of democracy, protecting and defending your country's new constitution and helping to transform the courts from agents of oppression into guardians of justice. You have devoted your entire judicial career to righting society's wrongs and advancing human rights in South Africa and throughout the world. In recognition of your courage and commitment, we are proud to name you Doctor of Laws.
Langer, an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a pioneer in biomedical engineering who has studied and developed polymers to deliver drugs, particularly genetically engineered proteins, continuously and at controlled rates for long periods of time.
With more than 600 patents granted and pending, your contribution to the field of biomedical engineering is unequaled. A prolific and gifted scientist, you have pioneered new technologies that have transformed the treatment of disease and injury. From transdermal patches, to microchips that deliver precise drug doses, to "manufactured" muscle and organ tissue, you have created what others could not even imagine. Your innovative use of methods and materials has revolutionized medicine, enabling new treatments, and holding great promise for those suffering from spinal cord injuries and cancer and those awaiting organ transplants.
A 1950 graduate of Yale College, Matthiessen is a renowned author and naturalist whose writing, both fiction and nonfiction, explores endangered natural environments and human cultures threatened by encroaching development.
From your classic history of wildlife in America, to your studies of the Himalayan snow leopard and the Siberian crane, you have shown us the beauty of species and the importance of biodiversity. From Tibet, to Antarctica, to the Florida Everglades and America's western wilderness, you have chronicled changes in the Earth's landscape, the fragility of life, and the wonder of nature. You have also probed deeply the landscape of humanity, with accounts of those whose traditional ways are threatened: fishermen, migrant workers and native Americans. Your graceful and luminous writing reveals the mysteries of the natural world and the human soul. We are pleased and proud to award you your second Yale degree, Doctor of Letters.
T H I S
Honorary Degrees
Fazle Hasan Abed
Doctor of Humane Letters
Meyer Howard Abrams
Doctor of Humanities
Emanuel Ax
Doctor of Music
as one of the world's greatest pianists. As a soloist and chamber musician, the breadth of your musical interest is incomparable. From Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert and Chopin
to contemporary composers such as Claude Bolling and Paul Hindemith, you perform with virtuosity and grace. You have worked tirelessly and passionately as an advocate of new music and music education. Your supreme talent is universally praised, and we are pleased to add our own tribute with this degree of Doctor of Music.
John Arthur Ferejohn
Doctor of Social Science
Richard Gilder
Doctor of Humane Letters
Julie Harris
Doctor of Fine Arts
Mary-Claire King
Doctor of Medical Sciences
Pius Nkonzo Langa
Doctor of Laws
Robert Langer
Doctor of Science
We honor your accomplishments with this degree of Doctor
of Science.
Peter Matthiessen
Doctor of Letters
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Yale to increase medical and scientific research programs
with acquisition of the Bayer HealthCare complex
Acquisition to expand Yale's economic impact
Milestones in building Yale's medical and scientific research strength
Study shows stem cells curb Parkinson's disease in primatesChina proves 'a great joy' for Yale 'friends from afar'
COMMENCEMENT 2007
With pomp, Yale celebrates its newest graduates
Baccalaureate Address
Honorary Degrees
Outstanding teachers and students are awarded prizes
Former Yale gallery director has been elected an alumni fellow
NASA administrator is appointed University's first CFO
'Lights, cameras and action!' come to campus
Delegations travel to Brazil and Mexico for alumni-hosted events
Initiative seeks to promote effective use of solar power
Air pollution is shown to harm pregnant woman
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS
Sleep apnea is linked to heart disease and diabetes
Research findings on FMRP protein may lead to . . .
Residents' work-hour reductions not harmful to patients, study says
New radio show offers information, support to cancer patients
Scientific symposium will honor renowned faculty member
Students' research on wood frogs is featured in Peabody exhibit
In Memoriam: Naturalist Charles L. Remington
Performances will showcase talents of young playwrights
New Yale website illustrates the history of slavery in Connecticut
Campus Notes
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