c/o Wesleyan Connection

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, President Michael Roth ’78 announced that the Wesleyan will award honorary degrees to three individuals at the 192nd Commencement on May 26, 2024. The recipients include Imani Perry, Raj Chetty, and Michael Greenberg ’76 P’14, all of whom currently teach at Harvard University. Perry will also deliver the commencement speech. 

In a recent all-campus email, Roth emphasized the importance of support for academia in response to recent political and social criticism levied against distinguished academics, including the campaign to unseat former Harvard University President Claudine Gay following accusations of plagiarism and a controversial congressional testimony. Supporters of Gay have argued that the accusations levied against her were blown out of proportion and part of a broader effort by conservative groups to discredit institutions of higher education.

“At a time when the Academy is under fire, the inspiring achievements of these honorees shows just how powerful and beneficial academic work at the highest level can be.” Roth wrote. 

Imani Perry is a distinguished academic and the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality at Harvard University. Perry, who also teaches courses in African and African American Studies, has earned multiple degrees from Harvard University, Yale University, and Georgetown University, and is an award-winning author of eight books. Perry’s latest book, “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” received the National Book Award on Nov. 16, 2022, among other accolades. She also authored other critically acclaimed, award-winning titles, including “Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry” and “May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem.” Perry publishes widely on topics of art, culture, and politics in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Atlantic.

“Perry memorably illuminates the stories of the oppressed, exploring the work of thinkers and artists facing the realities of domination.” Roth wrote. 

Raj Chetty is an award-winning researcher and the William A. Ackman Professor of Public Economics at Harvard University. He also serves as the Director of Opportunity Insights at Harvard, a position in which he synthesizes data to determine how best Harvard can give students from historically underrepresented groups more opportunities to succeed. Before becoming one of the youngest tenured professors at Harvard, Chetty taught at the University of California, Berkeley and at Stanford University. His research in economic theory has earned him the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2012 and the John Bates Clark medal in 2013. 

“Renowned economist Raj Chetty has greatly increased our understanding of economic mobility, equality of opportunity, and the importance of good teaching,” Roth wrote. 

Michael Greenberg is a Wesleyan graduate and the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology at the Blavatnik Institute at the Harvard Medical School. After graduating from Wesleyan with a BA in Chemistry in 1976, he earned a PhD in Biochemistry from Rockefeller University in 1982. Since becoming a full professor at the Harvard Medical School in 1994, Greenberg has conducted research on neurobiology, and has been published widely in scientific journals.

“Michael Greenberg, a proud Wesleyan alumnus and parent, has dedicated his life’s work to researching the human brain, receiving the highest personal honor in his field with the Brain Prize of 2023,” Roth wrote.

A list of past honorary degree recipients and Commencement speakers is available on the Wesleyan website. To offer suggestions for future recipients of honorary degrees, contact presoffice@wesleyan.edu.

Sulan Bailey can be reached at sabailey@wesleyan.edu.