UCLA is conferring its highest honor, the UCLA Medal, on six people this commencement season.
“The UCLA Medal is awarded only to those who have made truly extraordinary and distinguished contributions to society, their professions, higher education and to UCLA,” Chancellor Albert Carnesale said. “I am delighted that in 2005 we can honor such a diverse and accomplished group of individuals with this award.”
Terry S. Semel and Jane Bovingdon Semel received The UCLA Medal at the Hippocratic Oath Ceremony for graduates of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA on June 3. Semel is chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! Inc. and Jane Semel is founder of ijane inc., a nonprofit production company that addresses public health issues through entertainment. In 2004, the Semels donated $25 million to endow UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Anthony Hopkins will be awarded The UCLA Medal at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television commencement ceremony at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 17, at Dickson Court North. Hopkins, who has been teaching a series of seminars for acting and directing students at the school, has appeared in nearly 100 films during his 40-year career. He won an Academy Award for best actor for his performance in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and was nominated for his performances in The Remains of the Day (1993) and Nixon (1995).
Umberto Eco, professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna, Italy, will receive the medal during The College commencement at 5 p.m., Friday, June 17, in Pauley Pavilion. Eco is the author of four novels and several works of philosophy, criticism and literary theory.
Santa Monican Frank Gehry, who is generally acknowledged to be the most influential architect in the world today, will receive The UCLA Medal during the School of the Arts and Architecture commencement ceremony at 4 p.m., Saturday, June 18, at Dickson Court North.
James A. Banks, director of the Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington, Seattle, and Russell Stark University professor, will receive The UCLA Medal at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies ceremony at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, June 18, in Wilson Plaza. Banks is a former elementary school teacher and has written or edited 20 books on multicultural education and in social studies education.
The UCLA Medal is the university’s highest honor. It was created to honor those individuals who have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to their professions, to higher education, to our society, and to the people of UCLA. Among the recipients are heads of state, scientists, artists and scholars, peacemakers, social reformers and visionaries in business. Past recipients include Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Kirk Douglas.
California’s largest university, UCLA enrolls approximately 38,000 students per year and offers degrees from the UCLA College and 11 professional schools in dozens of varied disciplines.
For every $1 state taxpayers invest in UCLA, the university generates almost $9 in economic activity, resulting in an annual $6 billion economic impact on the Greater Los Angeles region. It employs more than 27,000 faculty and staff, has more than 321,000 living alumni and has been home to five Nobel Prize recipients.
