HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Loker Honored with Harvard Medal

Katherine Bogdanovich Loker received the Harvard Medal on Friday, March 29.

At a dinner for the Committee on University Resources (COUR) in the newly renovated Annenberg Hall, President Neil L. Rudenstine recognized Loker's longtime involvement at Harvard, including her service as a member of the COUR Campaign Executive Committee and as a member of the Visiting Committee to Harvard College from 1986 to 1993.

In thanking her for the gifts that made Loker Commons a reality, the President explained, "It was far more than generosity. It was really imagination, because anyone who, four or five years ago, had looked at the upstairs and especially the downstairs of Memorial Hall might well have had some doubts as to what could possibly result from any amount of energy and time put into them. But it was her imagination that essentially said very early on, 'That sounds like just the right idea -- and I'd like to help.'

"We wanted a gathering place for people from all across the University, and Loker Commons has become just that," he continued. "I haven't counted them personally, but I understand that 2,500 people -- mostly students, but faculty, staff, and others too -- come to the Commons each day to have coffee, talk, read books, listen to music, and as far as I can see, stay until much past midnight. It's a wonderful success, a wonderful place."

Rudenstine then read the citation accompanying the Harvard Medal: "Katherine Bogdanovich Loker, thoughtful friend and faithful member of the Harvard family, you have shaped the everyday life of our students and faculty by your perceptive and creative generosity."

The crowd of approximately 300 responded with a standing ovation.

Rudenstine presented Loker with a three-inch bronze medal and a scroll reading: "The Harvard Alumni Association proudly awards the Harvard Medal to Katherine Bogdanovich Loker in recognition of faithful and distinguished service to Harvard University and offers its congratulations and gratitude on this important occasion."

Loker responded with aplomb. Suggesting that the evening was like an Academy Awards event, she opened an envelope and announced, "The winners are ... definitely the students of Harvard!"

The preceding evening, March 28, President Rudenstine and Dean Jeremy R. Knowles unveiled a plaque and Loker's portrait at the formal dedication of Loker Commons.

The plaque reads: "Katherine Bogdanovich Loker. Her vision and generosity made possible the creation of this Commons for the benefit and enjoyment of the Harvard College community."

Wide involvement

Besides her commitment to the Commons, Loker has offered a challenge gift of $1 million to restore the tower on Memorial Hall. Previously, she and her late husband established the Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professorship in English. The holder of that chair is Professor Robert J. Kiely.

Loker, widow of Donald Prescott Loker '25, has two daughters, Deborah Prescott Loker Hicks and Katherine Olyott Loker Leahy, and six grandchildren.

An alumna of the University of Southern California (USC) and a longtime resident of Oceanside, Calif., Loker is active in various causes on the West Coast.

At USC, she has supported the Loker Hydrocarbon Institute and endowed a professorship in organic chemistry. Professor George Olah, the chair's incumbent, won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She has also made gifts to California State University at Dominguez Hills, the Donald P. Loker Cancer Treatment Center in Los Angeles, the California Museum of Science and Industry, the California Medical Center of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Music Center.

She also supports the Nixon Library, the Republican National Committee, and the U.S. Olympic Team. A sprinter in her youth, she just missed qualifying for the U.S. team that competed in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Her parents, Martin and Antoinette Bogdanovich, emigrated to the United States from what became Yugoslavia. In 1917, Martin Bogdanovich founded The French Sardine Company, which was later called Star-Kist Foods.

Loker, who has long been interested in gardening, has a patented yellow floribunda named for her, the "Katherine Loker" rose.

The Harvard Medal

Established in 1980 by the Harvard Alumni Association, the Harvard Medal recognizes alumni or friends who have provided distinguished service to the University. The President of the University presents the award each Commencement Day to three (or, in some cases, four) honorees.

An exception in timing was made so that Loker could receive the award at the formal celebration marking the successful conclusion of Memorial Hall renovations.

The Harvard Alumni Awards Committee selects the Harvard Medal recipients. The University's alumni and friends periodically offer names for the committee's consideration.