GSAS honors its leading alumni
The Centennial Medal is the highest honor awarded by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), given annually during Commencement week to celebrate the achievements of a select group of Harvard University’s most accomplished alumni. Centennial medalists are GSAS alumni who have made fundamental and lasting contributions to knowledge, to their disciplines, to their colleagues, and to the world at large. The medal was first awarded in June 1989, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of GSAS. Medalists are invited to attend the Honorands’ Dinner and to join other dignitaries on the stage for Commencement’s Morning and Afternoon Exercises in Tercentenary Theatre, as well as to join faculty and deans on stage at the GSAS Diploma Awarding Ceremony in Sanders Theatre. This year’s medal is being awarded on May 23 to the original American studies scholar, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, a pioneering scientist, and an...