Commencement 2023

Recipients of teaching prizes

Marci Shore, associate professor of history: the Sidonie Miskimin Clauss Prize for teaching excellence in the humanities.

Nilay Hazari, John Randolph Huffman Professor of Chemistry: the Dylan Hixon ’88 Prize for teaching excellence in the natural sciences.

Rourke O’Brien, associate professor of sociology: the Lex Hixon ’63 Prize for teaching excellence in the social sciences.

Evangelia Chalioti, senior lecturer and associate chair in the Department of Economics: cowinner of the Richard H. Brodhead ’68 Prize for teaching excellence by a lector or lecturer.

Matuku Ngame, senior lector in French: cowinner of the Richard Brodhead ’68 Prize for teaching excellence by instructional faculty.

John Carlson, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology: the Harwood F. Byrnes/Richard B. Sewall Teaching Prize for “a faculty member who over a long period of service has inspired
. . . students and consistently fostered the learning process both inside and outside the classroom.”

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Recipients of Honorary Degrees

Lonnie G. Bunch III, “Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, renowned historian, and bold educator, . . . the visionary force in establishing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, whose holdings remind us that a people’s journey is a nation’s story”: Doctor of Humane Letters.

Guido Calabresi ’53, ’58LLB, “groundbreaking scholar, eminent jurist, fabled teacher, and beloved dean” whose “students have gone on to shape a nation”: Doctor of Laws.

Robert Caro, “brilliant chronicler of Robert Moses and President Lyndon Johnson” who has immersed himself “in historical research, pursuing every lead and exploring every line of every source, to illuminate two of the most complicated and multifaceted personalities of our age”: Doctor of Letters.

Max Dale Cooper, “pathbreaking scientist, born and raised in rural Mississippi” who began his “education on a football scholarship in a community college” and has “risen to make transformative discoveries to human knowledge”: Doctor of Medical Sciences.

France Córdova, “astrophysicist and transformative administrator” who has “fostered collaboration and innovation as the director of the National Science Foundation, NASA’s chief scientist, president of Purdue University, and in other leadership roles”: Doctor of Science.

Andrés Duany ’74MArch and elizabeth plater-zyberk ’74MArch, “an architectural partnership of enduring impact.” They “saw the potential for building pedestrian-friendly environments
. . . that foster connection,” and their “masterful designs have brought that vision to fruition and revolutionized practices worldwide”: Doctors of Fine Arts.

Paul Giamatti ’89, ’94MFA, “whether on stage at the Yale Rep or on screens around the world,” his “gift as an actor confers lux and lends veritas to every role” he inhabits: Doctor of Fine Arts.

Deborah Willis, “photographer and sublime visual artist, with a keen eye and a deep sense of context,” who has “given us a legacy of images that explore, document, and celebrate the African American experience”: Doctor of Humanities.