As balloons bobbed, trumpets blared, colorful banners waved and eager students cheered, more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate degrees were awarded May 26 to the Class of 1997. Students from Yale College and the University's 11 professional and graduate schools converged for a brief time on the sun-dappled Old Campus for Yale University's 296th commencement ceremonies. Just as quickly, they scattered to points both far and near to pursue their lives and their careers with Yale degree in hand.
Among the graduates were a former Benedictine monk who was a special student in the Teacher Preparation Program; a young woman with cerebral palsy who traversed the halls of the Law School in a wheelchair as she pursued her degree there; a young bride whose master's degree in forest ecology will help her fight forest fires in the Grand Canyon beside her husband; an American studies major who served for four years aboard a Navy nuclear- powered submarine before returning to college; and a native of Ghana who wrote his senior essay on malaria control in Africa and who plans to become a physician.
Cheering them on were about 10,000 parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, offspring, and assorted other relatives and friends, along with the nine accomplished individuals selected by the Yale Corporation to receive honorary degrees.
In addition to Ireland's President Mary Robinson, the honorands included actress-director Jodie Foster, a member of the Yale Class of 1984; Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of children's books; and three Nobel laureates: Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in his native East Timor, Indonesia; Alfred Goodman Gilman, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of G. proteins, which play a critical role in intracellular communication; and Mexican-American scientist Mario J. Molina, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, who discovered the environmental damage caused by CFC refrigerants, which deplete the earth's protective ozone layer. Other 1997 honorary degree recipients were Roberto C. Goizueta, leader of The Coca-Cola Company and a member of the Yale Class of 1953; Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and long-time Grambling State University football coach Eddie G. Robinson. During Commencement ceremonies, the tree-lined quadrangle was filled with golden sunshine, a sharp contrast to the drenching downpour that turned Old Campus into a sea of colorful umbrellas during Sunday's Senior Class Day festivities. The weekend's ambivalent weather reflected something of the mixed feelings found on the faces of the graduates and their families Q from beaming pride to uncertainty about the future, from whoops and high-fives to tearful farewells.
Students chosen for special honor carried their residential college or professional school banners and marched to cadences composed by Nino Marcelli, Hector Berlioz and Gordon Jacob in the procession through campus, which reflected nearly three centuries of academic tradition. Many of the graduates wore decorated mortar boards Q a sprig of greenery for the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, halos for the Divinity School, and emblems from residential college shields among the undergraduates. Following ceremonies on Old Campus, students received individual diplomas and special awards in noontime ceremonies at their residential colleges and professional schools. At Ezra Stiles College, the news media focused on actress Sara Gilbert, who portrayed Darlene for 10 years on ABC's comedy series "Roseanne." She earned a degree in art. At Branford College, graduates included James Prosek, author of "The Illustrated TROUT," whom The New York Times once dubbed "the fishing world's Audubon." At Saybrook College, Avni Hasit Thakore, who plans to enter medical school in the fall, received both bachelor's and master's degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. Her accomplishments earned her a slot on USA Today's 1997 All-USA College Team.
In addition, six men and women who earned their doctoral degrees at Yale were honored with Wilbur Lucius Cross Medals for outstanding achievement in professional life. P>