The seven honorary degrees recipients at this year's Commencement ceremony will include a cartoonist, a retired Army General, a world-renowned doctor, an ecologist, a former professional basketball player and a microfinance expert.
Roz Chast, a cartoonist known for her work in The New Yorker magazine, served as a Montgomery Fellow at the College during Fall term 2009 and will receive a Doctor of Arts degree.
"I always loved making myself laugh and making other people laugh," Chast said in an interview with The Dartmouth earlier this year. "I've always been attracted to that kind of thing."
Chast has published cartoons in magazines and journals ranging from Scientific American to Town & Country. Her cartoon collections and books include "Unscientific Americans," "Parallel Universes" and "Theories of Everything: Selected Collected and Health-Inspected Cartoons."
John Abizaid, a retired United States Army General, will receive a Doctor of Laws from the College. Abizaid also spent time at Dartmouth during Fall term as a Montgomery Fellow.
Abizaid graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1973 and went on to become the youngest four-star general in the Army and the senior-most military officer of direct Arab descent.
Abizaid served as Commander of the United States Central Command from 2003 to 2007, a role in which he oversaw 250,000 military personnel and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"You're going to be the future leaders of the United States, whether you like it or not," Abizaid told Dartmouth students during his speech in the Montgomery Fellows Program fall lecture series. "You're going to have to decide whether to be part of the problem-solving class or part of the critical class. You've been given a tough hand."
Abizaid has been recognized with the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with five Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Bronze Star.
He also earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge, Master Parachutist Badge with Gold Star, Ranger Tab and the Expert Infantryman's Badge.
Dr. Raymond Johnson '59 is known for his work at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, Inc., where he conducted research that led to the development of antibiotics for the treatment of typhoid fever and sexually transmitted diseases.
Earlier in his career, he served as the first black commanding officer of the Naval Regional Medical Center in Newport, Rhode Island. Johnson studied psychology at Dartmouth and went on to complete medical school at the Howard University College of Medicine, and will receive a Doctor of Science.
Ecologist Jane Lubchenco will receive a Doctor of Science. She is currently the U.S. undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, as well as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Lubchenco received her Ph.D in ecology from Harvard University and has since traveled around the world studying marine ecosystems, with a focus on Arctic ecosystems.
Lubchenco has also worked closely with several U.S. administrations and members of Congress, who have relied on her research.
Former professional basketball player Bill Russell is one of two people who will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters from the College. Russell helped to lead the Boston Celtics to 11 National Basketball Association championships during his 13-year basketball career, and became the first black NBA coach in 1969.
Russell received the NBA's first Civil Rights Award, as well as an honorary membership in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
World microfinance leader Maria Otero will also be recognized with a Doctor of Humane Letters.
Otero is currently the president and CEO of ACCION International, an organization that offers loans and establishes stable financial systems to assist poverty-stricken areas in Recife, Brazil. She also works with numerous non-profit organizations including Banco Sol, the Calvert Foundation, BRAC Holding of Bangladesh and the Public Welfare Foundation. In 2005, she was named one of the twenty most influential women in the United States by Newsweek magazine.
Louise Erdrich 76, who is this year's Commencement speaker, will also receive a Doctor of Letters at the ceremony.
