Rockefeller University Graduates 18 Ph.D.s On June 10th, Rockefeller University's 41st Convocation ceremony defied rain clouds and campus construction to impress both onlookers and participants. The traditional procession of faculty, trustees and graduates up the 66th Street drive set the tone of regal formality that was complemented by the warmth of the personal tributes made to graduates inside Caspary Auditorium.

The university conferred 18 doctorates this year to students from 12 countries: Argentina, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, People's Republic of China, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States. One degree was awarded in absentia to Alessandro Bianchi. Thesis advisors described the scientific achievements of the young scientists, as well as their quirks, conquests and creativity in and out of the laboratory. Graduates received degrees individually from President Levine after their advisors' remarks, with Marshals Professor Stephen Burley and Associate Professor Ali Hemmati-Brivanlou sharing the task of bestowing graduates with the traditional gold and blue hoods.

Lederberg receives Doctor of Science honoris causa

     Sakler Foundation Scholar Joshua Lederberg received an honorary doctorate of science at this year¹s convocation. A seminal figure in the world of molecular biology, Lederberg won the Nobel Prize in Medicine at age 33 for work started at age 20, in which he showed that bacteria can reproduce through sexual recombination. He was president of The Rockefeller University from 1978 to 1990.

Forger receives David Rockefeller Award

     This year, the university honors Alexander D. Forger, Esq., retired chairman of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy, and a member of The Rockefeller University's Board of Trustees, with the David Rockefeller Award. The award recognizes an individual from the university's community whose extraordinary service exemplifies the commitment to the institution made by David Rockefeller, the 84-year-old grandson of the university's founder, John D. Rockefeller. The award acknowledges "unswerving enthusiasm for its scientists and a deep concern for the progress of their research; selfless dedication to further the university¹s mission and strengthening the institution; and an unstinting effort to enlist others to join in supporting biomedical science for the benefit of humankind." David Rockefeller himself received the first David Rockefeller award in June 1995, in recognition of his distinguished service on the university's Board of Trustees since 1950.
     The Board also named him a life trustee and honorary chairman in June 1995. In 1996, the civic leader and philanthropist Brooke Astor received the David Rockefeller Award. Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees William O. Baker received the award in 1997. Last year, Trustee John C. Whitehead, chairman of AEA Investors Inc., and the late David J.L. Luck received the award. Luck, RU's vice president for academic affairs until his death in May 1998, received the award posthumously. Forger, a trusted advisor to five university presidents and five Board chairmen, was elected to the board of trustees in 1978 after serving as chairman of the university's Committee on Trust and Estate Gift Plans. He served as a member of the Executive Committee and as chairman or co-chairman of its Development Committee for 13 years.

Last updated: June 18, 1999
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