During its 325th graduation ceremony on May 18, Yale University will award honorary degrees to distinguished individuals who have achieved excellence in their fields.
The recipients include leaders in philosophy, statistics and neuroscience, playwriting, Olympic competition, political science, civic leadership, and chemistry.
The awarding of honorary degrees, which has been a Yale tradition since 1702, recognizes pioneering achievement or exemplary contribution to the common good.
This year's recipients include:
Kwame Anthony Appiah, a philosopher, cultural theorist, writer, and professor of philosophy and law at New York University. For the past decade, he has also written The Ethicist column for The New York Times Magazine, which, by addressing the ethical dilemmas faced by everyday individuals, has made philosophy accessible and relevant to a broader audience.
Emery N. Brown, a statistician, computational neuroscientist, anesthesiologist, and professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT. He is known for his contributions to the neuroscience of anesthesia and for developing statistical methods for neuroscience data analysis. Among other accolades, he has received a Guggenheim Fellowship in applied mathematics and, in 2024, the National Medal of Science.
Katie Ledecky, an Olympic swimmer who is the most decorated Team USA female Olympian in history across all sports. She has earned 14 Olympic medals, nine of which were gold, and holds 18 individual world championship long-course titles - the most of any swimmer, male or female.
Lynn Nottage '89 M.F.A., an American playwright and screenwriter who is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for drama. She is a professor of theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts. Her many honors include induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a MacArthur Fellowship.
Robert D. Putnam '70 Ph.D., a renowned American political scientist and professor emeritus at Harvard, celebrated for his influential work on social capital, community, and democracy. He has written 15 books, including "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community" (2000); among his numerous honors is the National Humanities Medal.
Kurt Schmoke '71, a pioneering lawyer and politician and president of the University of Baltimore recognized for his dedication to improving urban education and fostering community development. A Rhodes Scholar and former Yale trustee, his long record of public service includes service as the first elected African American mayor of Baltimore.
JoAnne Stubbe, an eminent chemist and professor emerita at MIT, renowned for her groundbreaking research on the mechanism of ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs), essential enzymes required for DNA synthesis and repair in all organisms. She has been recognized with many honors, including the National Medal of Science in 2008.
Full award citations for all honorary degree recipients will be published on Yale News following the May 18 Commencement ceremony.
