Singer Mavis Staples, actress Angela Bassett, and soccer star Didier Drogba were among the honorees presented with W.E.B. Du Bois Medals Thursday at Sanders Theatre. The annual ceremony, hosted by the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, recognizes outstanding contributions to Black history and culture.
Luiselli, an incoming professor of English, was nominated for her novel “Beginning Middle End.” It tells the story of a mother and 12-year-old daughter starting over in Sicily after the elder’s divorce, as they figure out how to rebuild amid encounters with the island’s daily life and its winds, waters, and volcanoes.
The astrochemist traveled to Vatican City to accept the award in a September 24 ceremony.
The assistant professor in the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies has been named this year’s winner of a distinguished annual honor for artists with strong ties to New England.
The John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities and associate professor of African and African American Studies is one of eight U.S. visual arts writers to receive the award this year.
Flynn, 38, was recognized for uncovering a new class of RNA molecules on cell surfaces. He was among 18 finalists, announced Wednesday, selected from a pool of 372 nominees.
The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research has named its 2026 cohort of W.E.B. Du Bois Medalists, including actress Angela Bassett, humanitarian and soccer legend Didier Drogba, and five-time Grammy-winning singer Mavis Staples.
The leading stem cell scientist calls the $46 million award “dream-come-true opportunity.”
The institute will bring together 39 researchers across fields including mathematics, computer science, engineering, physics, and chemistry.
The Harvard theoretical physicist and neuroscientist has won the Dirac Medal and Prize, one of the highest honors in physics.
Task force leadership is “a mandate to follow the evidence, provide candid feedback, and produce rigorous findings.”