During its 324th graduation ceremony on Monday, Yale University awarded honorary degrees to eight individuals whose achievements in their fields have benefited the common good.
This year’s honorary degree recipients are Debbie Allen, the beloved performer, producer, and director; Frances H. Arnold, a Nobel Prize-winning bioengineer and pioneer in the field of evolutionary chemistry; Ronald L. Carter, the iconic jazz musician and composer; Michael B. Curry ’78 M.Div., former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and longtime advocate for social justice; Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr. ’73, literary scholar and award-winning filmmaker; Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author; Fei-Fei Li, a computer scientist and pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence; and Peter B. Moore ’61, a distinguished chemist and longtime Yale professor who contributed key insights for understanding of the ribosome.
The awarding of honorary degrees, which has been a Yale tradition since 1702, recognizes pioneering achievement or exemplary contribution to the common good.
“The eight individuals we honor this morning serve as examples to you, our graduates, to encourage you to aspire to excellence and to value those elements of human character that they embody: creativity, curiosity, discipline, integrity, and a passion for public service,” Yale President Maurie McInnis said during the commencement ceremony on Old Campus. “Their presence here also honors you who graduate today and all of us who are here to salute you.”
The honorary degree recipients and their citations follow:
Debbie Allen
Performer, Producer, Director
Doctor of Fine Arts
“A whirling dervish of artistic energy, in a career that spans multiple decades you have won dozens of awards for your portrayal of Anita in ‘West Side Story,’ Lydia Grant in the 1980s hit series ‘Fame,’ and as director, choreographer, and producer of countless stage and TV shows. As the founder of the famed Debbie Allen Dance Academy, your teaching has enriched and transformed the lives of hundreds of young dancers who have developed into superb artists through your school.
“Polymath of performance, and promoter of change, Yale celebrates you with a grand jeté of admiration as we award you the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.”
Frances H. Arnold
Chemical engineer
Doctor of Science
“Bold bioengineer, you are the inventor of the field of evolutionary chemistry, a Nobel prize winner who stunned the scientific world with your adventurous and unorthodox research. Your creation of new enzymes by directing evolutionary processes in a laboratory setting, has made possible remarkable advances for science, medicine, technology, and all of humankind. Perhaps your ability to think out-of-the-box owes something to your free-spirited youth, where you worked many jobs, traveled widely, and spent time as a cocktail waitress, cab driver, and motorcyclist, an explorer who would not be hemmed in by traditional pathways and expectations.
“Yale salutes a brave, resilient, and innovative scientist whose genius has been to demonstrate that Nature and Science are unparalleled partners, as, in tribute, we award you the degree of Doctor of Science.”
Ronald L. Carter
Jazz cellist and bassist
Doctor of Music
“Iconic American jazz cellist and bassist, you are often considered the most important bassist in the history of jazz, and among the most universally admired and beloved. In over 3,000 recordings and hundreds of gigs alongside a who’s who of performers like Miles Davis, Lena Horne, and B.B. King, your technique, artistry, and sense of rhythm have captivated jazz fans around the globe and influenced generations of musicians from classical to hip hop.
“Influential performer, composer, and educator, we are pleased to riff on your three Emmys, and multiple other awards, as we present you with one of our own: a Doctor of Music.”
Michael B. Curry ’78 M.Div.
Bishop
Doctor of Divinity
“Twenty-seventh presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, last year you completed your nine-year term as the Church’s head pastor, spokesperson, president, and chief executive officer. Proactive guardian of the Church’s spirit, you have taken on challenging issues and championed them internationally with your empowering voice.
“Faithful and fiery shepherd, and a man of good hope, who proclaims his desire for a church that looks and acts like Jesus, Yale celebrates a graduate who insists that, ‘If it’s not about love, it’s not about God,’ as, with trumpets and timbrels, we confer on you your second Yale degree, Doctor of Divinity.”
Henry Louis “Skip” Gates, Jr. ’73
Literary scholar
Doctor of Humanities
“To put it plainly, you are a phenomenon. In your books, editions, anthologies, documentaries, and TV series ‘Finding Your Roots,’ you have been an institution builder and drum major for the cultural and intellectual tradition of African American literature and scholarship. You have shown, as Martin Luther King said, that ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness — only light can do that.’ Proud son of West Virginia, we rejoice that you are also a proud son of Yale, a school you loved, and where you have said your heart will always be.
“Your university welcomes you home, Skip Gates, to a place where you found part of your own roots, and thanks you for your distinguished contributions to American culture and democracy, as we present you with your second Yale degree, Doctor of Humanities.”
Annette Gordon-Reed
Historian
Doctor of Letters
“Innovative historian, your exploration into the life and times of Thomas Jefferson has refined our view of one of our illustrious presidents and opened our eyes to the contradictions at work in America’s founding generation. Your deep archival research, along with your beautiful gift for storytelling, has given us much more — including the essays in ‘Juneteenth,’ a meditation on the long road to the end of legalized slavery in the state of Texas, the place where you still feel most at home.
“Yale pays tribute to a historian’s historian, whose work helps us to understand what America has been so we can move even more towards what it can be, as with great respect we award you the degree of Doctor of Letters.”
Fei-Fei Li
Computer scientist
Doctor of Engineering & Technology
“Pioneering developer of Artificial Intelligence, you immigrated from China with your parents to an early life of poverty in America. Waitress, house cleaner, dog walker, you were recognized by your remarkable high school teacher who helped you discover your passion for math and science, and the expansive opportunities America affords a young child of passion, resilience, and promise.
“Pathbreaker and proselytizer for an AI technology with the power to reshape life as we know it, Yale honors the originator of ‘Human-centered AI,’ who has dedicated herself to answering her mother’s question — ‘Fei-Fei, what else can AI do to help people?’ — as with admiration we confer on you the degree of Doctor of Engineering and Technology.”
Peter B. Moore ’61
Chemist
Doctor of Science
“Distinguished scientist, you are best known for your studies of the structure of the ribosome, the cellular machinery for making proteins, which are essential for life and have implications for pioneering medical advances. Generous collaborator, mentor, and Yale community citizen for more than fifty years, known for your high standards, integrity, and professionalism, you have always been a champion and exemplar for what you insist the world needs: a devotion to basic science, which does not start with a specific aim, but leads to discoveries no one yet has imagined.
“Ardent partisan of the laboratory arts, Yale honors you for your contributions to science, and to your university, as we gratefully award you your third Yale degree, Doctor of Science.”
