A diverse group of nine public figures including a former president, an Emmy Award-winning actress, a Native American activist, and two notable Dartmouth alumni will be awarded honorary degrees by the College at the Class of 2011's Commencement exercises on June 11, according to Justin Anderson, director of media relations for the College.
Former President George H.W. Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, will receive an honorary degree.
College President Jim Yong Kim said he was "surprised" that Bush had agreed to attend the Commencement ceremonies, as Bush "doesn't usually agree" to such appearances. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush, will likely arrive Sunday morning and just stay for the Commencement ceremony, according to Kim.
Bush graduated from Yale University in 1948 after working as a naval pilot in World War II from 1943 to 1945. He represented Texas in the House of Representatives from 1966 to 1970, served as the Ambassador to the United Nations from 1971 to 1973, chaired the Republican National Committee in 1973 and acted as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 1976 to 1977. Bush's tenure as vice president of the United States under former President Ronald Reagan preceded his own election.
As president, Bush historically launched the Gulf War in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. He also led the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations, and is given credit for enacting policy conducive to the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Emmy Award-winning actress Ruby Dee will also receive an honorary degree. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in "American Gangster." Dee, who has starred in several Broadway plays, has been regaled for her role as Ruth Younger in the 1961 film adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play, "A Raisin in the Sun." Dee won an Emmy Award in 1990 for her role in the made-for-television movie "Decoration Day" and was nominated for seven other Emmy Awards.
Former Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health Howard Hiatt is another degree recipient. Hiatt attended Harvard undergraduate and medical schools. His research ranges from the application of molecular biology to medical problems to the development of education programs in primary care. Hiatt is currently a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and senior physician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Hiatt co-founded the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, with the goal of improving global health services execution, alongside Kim and global health care activists Paul Farmer and Victor Dzau. Hiatt is a former member of the Partners in Health Board of Directors.
Kim said Hiatt was chosen to receive a degree from the College due to the "huge impact" Hiatt has had in medicine.
"[Hiatt is] one of the leaders in molecular biology and public health and health care delivery," Kim said.
Native American leader Elouise Cobell, who successfully argued a historic case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007, is also receiving a degree at the ceremony. Cobell was the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit Cobell v. Salazar, which was brought against the United States government for mismanagement of individual Indian trust accounts, according to a press release by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were ultimately awarded a $3.4 billion settlement. Cobell is the executive director of the Native American Community Development Corporation, and is a member of the Blackfeet tribe.
Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga '61, who served as dean of the faculty at the College from 2002 to 2004, will also be granted an honorary degree. Prior to his role as dean, Gazzaniga directed the cognitive neuroscience program at Dartmouth Medical School from 1988 to 1992. He directed the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and was named the David T. McLaughlin Distinguished Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences in 1996. Gazzaniga is currently a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences on May 3, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Russell Boss '61 Tu'62 will also receive an honorary degree at the ceremony. Boss served as the chief executive officer of A.T. Cross an American manufacturer of fountain pens and other goods including planners, journals, wallets, cufflinks and watches until 1993. He is currently the company's board chairman. Boss also founded the Russell A. Boss Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization.
Artist and Brooklyn native Roz Chast will also receive an honorary degree from the College. Chast has been a member of The New Yorker staff since 1979. Her cartoons often deal with the anxieties of living in New York City, and she has illustrated multiple children's books, including "The Alphabet from A to Y, with Bonus Letter, Z," a 2007 collaboration with comedian Steve Martin. Chast was a Montgomery Fellow at the College in 2007.
Joel Klein, the former chancellor of New York City public schools, will also receive an honorary degree in June. Klein has also worked with the Gates Foundation to fund the opening of 43 schools in New York City. Klein practiced law in Washington, D.C., for 20 years before serving as chancellor, and currently serves as the executive vice president of the News Corporation, a media company founded by Rupert Murdoch.
Comedian Conan O'Brien, who will deliver the 2011 Commencement address, will also receive an honorary degree at the ceremonies.
