Since 1880, the University has awarded 470 Honorary Degrees to accomplished leaders from a variety of fields. This year seven of such leaders will receive an honorary degree and join the likes of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Bill Cosby. The 2014 recipients include Susan Wojcicki, Norman Augustine, Taylor Branch, Fred Lazarus, Edith Windsor, Pamela Flaherty and Roberta Kaplan.
Wojcicki, the current CEO of YouTube, played a significant part in Google’s startup as their 16th employee, and strives to open up the field of technology for women. In addition to being honored, Wojcicki will also serve as the Commencement speaker.
Two of the honorees in particular have a close relationship with Hopkins.
Augustine, who has served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology for 16 years and chaired Lockheed Martin, is a University trustee.
Flaherty, the current president and CEO of Citi Foundation, was the former chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and attended the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
““It’s kind of a shock [receiving the degree]. I am incredibly honored. I hadn’t really thought about that at all, so when Ron called me, words kind of failed me. I feel that Hopkins has given so much to me in terms of both my education at SAIS and my service on the board,” Flaherty said.
She cites leading the committee to appoint President Daniels as her proudest accomplishment on the University’s Board.
Windsor and Kaplan are two honorees whose work in marriage equality and civil rights resulted in the declaration of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act as unconstitutional in June 2013. Kaplan, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, took on Windsor’s case pro bono. Kaplan’s ties to gay rights expand beyond Windsor v. United States. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York.
Branch won the Pulitzer Prize for his work, “America in the King Years,” which was published in 1988. The trilogy is a history of the American civil rights movement. He has also had an extensive news career at The Washington Post. Branch won a five-year MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1991, and received the National Humanities Medal in 1999.
As the president of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Lazarus has strong ties to Baltimore, as well as to Hopkins. He has helped propel MICA to become a top-ranked fine arts college. During his time as president, MICA’s enrollment has doubled and the size of the school’s campus has grown tenfold.
In an email to the faculty, staff and students of the University, President Ronald Daniels and Provost Robert Lieberman explained that all of these honorees share a “drive to innovate, the determination to succeed, and the passion to look beyond themselves and work for the benefit of mankind. “
“This Commencement season, we are pleased to recognize seven honorary degree recipients who share and exemplify these values. These men and women have distinguished themselves in ways that are wholly their own,” the email read.
The honorary degrees will be awarded during the Commencement ceremony on May 22 at Homewood Field.
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