A former boxer, a translator of Homer and a groundbreaking choreographer among those honored
By: Nick Norlen
On Tuesday, Princeton University was just giving out degrees.
But the recipients were certainly worthy.
At Princeton’s 260th Commencement ceremony, President Shirley Tilghman awarded honorary degrees to seven individuals, including boxing legend and humanitarian Muhammad Ali, choreographer Twyla Tharp and Princeton University professor and literary translator Robert Fagles.
University Orator Rajiv Vinnakota described Mr. Ali, who was awarded a doctor of humanities degree in recognition of his humanitarian efforts such as goodwill missions to Afghanistan and North Korea, as "an Olympian of global reach and Herculean determination."
"He inspires even the least athletic among us to float like the butterfly, sting like the bee and aim for nothing less than the gold," Mr. Vinnakota, a university trustee, said.
Princeton alumnus and former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine was awarded a doctor of laws degree in recognition of his public service and leadership in many different organizations.
"Ever guided by his moral compass and ever clear-eyed about his commitment to excellence, he steered one of America’s most crucial industries safely through the rocky uncertainties of a Cold War world," Mr. Vinnakota said.
University of California-San Francisco professor Elizabeth Blackburn was named a doctor of science for her pioneering work in creating a new field in molecular biology.
"In her lab, she focuses on the tips of chromosomes, striving to harness telomeres and their constituent enzymes to slow the aging process and block the growth of cancer cells," Mr. Vinnakota said.
Dr. Fagles, a Princeton professor who created best-selling English translations of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," was named a doctor of humane letters.
"His translations bring to life not just the words but the unquenchable spirit of the ancient masterpieces," Mr. Vinnakota said.
Howard University professor, cancer researcher and surgeon LaSalle Leffall Jr. was awarded a doctor of science for his work in developing new treatment and diagnosis strategies.
"For more than 50 years he has brought his skills as a surgeon, oncologist and educator to the fight against cancer," Mr. Vinnakota said. "By combining his extensive medical knowledge with compassion and determination, he has forged formidable weapons against life-threatening disease."
For his renowned scholarship in the field, modern German historian Fritz Stern was named doctor of humane letters.
"An exile from Hitler’s Germany, at home on both sides of the Atlantic; a public intellectual in Germany and in the United States; and a superb scholar equally at ease before an audience of legislators, public servants or university students he has enlightened us all," Mr. Vinnakota said.
Ms. Tharp was awarded a doctor of fine arts degree for her groundbreaking choreography. Mr. Vinnakota said: "She has staged the body electric in ways that have expanded the range of how and what dance might mean and, in doing so, has won dance new audiences."

