You have to be pretty special to get a degree from Johns Hopkins, which means you have to be extra special to be deemed worthy of an honorary degree. This year’s recipients are a laudable bunch, including a Baltimore politician, distinguished musicians, and a public health hero.
Here are the seven men and women who will receive honorary degrees at the university’s May 21 commencement:
- Marin Alsop, director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the first woman to lead a major U.S. symphony.
- Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney, animation hero, and this year’s commencement speaker.
- Elijah Cummings, a Baltimore native and longtime member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a key advisor to the White House on global HIV/AIDS issues.
- Leon Fleisher, an acclaimed pianist and Peabody professor whose struggles with a disease that crippled his right hand were the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary short. Fleisher continues to perform today.
- William “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and former president of the University of Maryland-College Park.
- Anthony Deering, the chair of Exeter Capital and former chair/CEO of the Rouse Company.
- Lynne Deering, an arts philanthropist who sits on the board of Maryland Citizens for the Arts, Center Stage, and the Baltimore Museum of Art, among others.
