Ovations given to champions of causes
Arts, business, academia also honorees
NEW HAVEN — Three women who have worked for others’ rights and freedoms, both human and animal, received the loudest cheers among the 11 honorary degree recipients Monday at Yale University’s graduation ceremony.
In a year without a recipient from popular culture, such as actor Angela Bassett in 2018, Stevie Wonder in 2017 and Paul McCartney in 2008, it was a year to celebrate those who champion a cause.
Gloria Steinem, a feminist leader of the 1960s and ’70s and co-founder of Ms. and New York magazines; Sister Helen Prejean, who has worked to eliminate capital punishment and advocated for condemned prisoners and their families; and Cynthia Moss, conservationist and director of the Amboseli Elephant Research Project, the longest-running study of African elephants in the world, were given loud ovations by the more than 4,500 graduates on Yale’s Old Campus.
Other recipients included Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian-born novelist and essayist who speaks out about social issues such as race and gender and was Sunday’s Class Day speaker; James A. Baker III, secretary of the treasury under President Ronald Reagan and secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, and chief of staff to both; Carmen de Lavallade, a choreographer and modern dancer who has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera and in films; and Indra K. Nooyi of Greenwich.
Nooyi, who in 2006 became the first female CEO of PepsiCo, retired in 2018. A native of India and graduate of the Yale School of Management was called an “intrepid trailblazer” who has “led with purpose, ascending the corporate ladder and encouraging women and girls to picture themselves in the C suite,” referring to the offices of top business executives. She is a member of the World Economic Forum board of trustees and one of 25 women to lead a Fortune 500 company. She served on the Yale Corporation, the university’s board of trustees, from 2002 to 2014.
When Steinem approached the dais, she patted her heart and smiled as cheers rang out. An honoree of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, she has also been an activist in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. “Gloria Steinem, you spearheaded a movement and changed our world, giving women greater freedom to chart their own courses in life,” Salovey said. “Opening doors for generations to come, you fought to expand rights and advance liberty, equality and humanity.” He called her a “feminist and firebrand, icon and iconoclast.” After receiving her degree, she raised a fist to the crowd, which gave her a standing ovation.
“Connecticut did away with the death penalty, you know. It took a lot of work,” said Prejean as she processed to Yale’s Old Campus. “You have all these coalitions around the U.S.” working to repeal death penalty laws, “so I’ve been in and out of Connecticut a lot,” she said. Connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2012 and a 2016 court ruling made that retroactive for the 11 prisoners then on death row.
Prejean, who started her work against capital punishment with two death row inmates in Louisiana, is author of “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States.” It was made into a 1995 film starring Susan Sarandon, who won the Academy Award for best actress. Prejean’s third book, “River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey,” will be published in August.
Yale Provost Ben Polak called her a “death penalty abolutionist.” In introducing her, Yale President Peter Salovey said she is an “emissary of hope” who goes “to the margins of society, to the poor, forgotten and alone, to share God’s love. In bearing witness and raising your voice, you have changed hearts, transformed catechism and opened our eyes to the value of all human beings no matter who they are or what they have done.”
Salovey told Moss, “You have brought international attention to the elephants of Amboseli. Through research and advocacy, you show us how these majestic animals live, love and die, and the lessons they offer to humankind.” A former journalist, Moss has lived in Kenya since founding her elephant research project in 1972. She and her fellow researchers study elephants’ “genetics, communication, reproductive histories, and cognition,” according to the citation, and she founded the Amboseli Trust for Elephants to help ensure their conservation.
To a broadly smiling Adichie, Salovey said, “Your stories of war, migration, home and heartbreak bring the great richness and multiplicity of human experience to life. With courage courage and clarity, you call us to do better for women and girls for ourselves and future generations around the globe.” In addition to her books, she gave a TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” in 2009, which has been viewed more than 17 million times. She received a master’s in African studies from Yale in 2008.
Salovey told Baker “As Cabinet secretary, foreign envoy and trusted adviser, you have placed national interest above self-interest. Your laser-sharp understanding of people, power and policy helped guide a generation of U.S. presidents, shaping our government and our world.”
During the procession, Baker, who also served in President Gerald R. Ford’s administration, said it was a “wonderful day to be here. … I like Yale because I went to Princeton and it’s in the Ivy League. But I like it when Princeton beats Yale, I have to tell you.”