Harvard Medal Winners Selected by Harvard Alumni Association

The 1998 Harvard Medal recipients have been named by the Harvard Alumni Association.

The medals are given in recognition of extraordinary service to the University.

The recipients are Robert Shenton, PhD '62; Paul M. Weissman '52; and Hope Williams Wigglesworth '48. The three will be honored on Commencement Day, June 4, at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association.

Harvard Medal Winners

Robert Shenton served Harvard with distinction as the Secretary to the Corporation, of the Board of Overseers, and of the University from 1971 to 1991. He managed complex university affairs with admirable skill and great sensitivity to the requirements of the job. His legendary administrative abilities served Harvard through the tenures of Presidents Nathan Pusey and Derek Bok. In 1970-71 and again in 1990-91, he served as Administrator for the Corporation's University presidential searches that resulted in the selection of Presidents Bok and Rudenstine.

Shenton was Registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) from 1965 to 1971, and served as Secretary of the FAS during the tumultuous years of 1967-69. His stellar contribution of more than 30 years of service always reflected Harvard's best interests.

Paul M. Weissman, alumnus par excellence, has been chairman of the Harvard College Fund since 1991. Under his leadership, the Fund has shattered all previous records. His tireless efforts on behalf of the Fund earned him the first Richard T. Flood Award for outstanding service in 1977 and, in 1995, the David T.W. McCord Award for long-term achievement in service. Since 1952, he has been Class Fund Agent for his class.

Former President of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA), Weissman's leadership set the highest possible standard. He has been an HAA Elected Director and a Director representing the Harvard Club of New York City, where he served on the Board of Managers from 1989 to 1995. He is currently a member of the Committee on University Resources' Executive Committee and, for the University Campaign, co-chair of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Initiative, as well as a member of the N.Y. Major Gifts Committee and Financial Aid Council.

He and his wife, Harriet, established the Weissman International Internship Program and the Weissman Endowed Scholarship Program. For more than 45 years, he demonstrated his unstinting commitment and loyalty to Harvard.

Hope Williams Wigglesworth has been an active participant in University life, strengthening the bonds between Radcliffe and Harvard with integrity and devotion. Her service to Radcliffe earned her the 1993 Radcliffe College Alumnae Association Distinguished Service Award. From 1972 to 1979, she served as Director of the Radcliffe College Fund and Director of Development and Alumnae Affairs. Under her leadership, alumnae giving doubled. From 1983 to 1990, she guided many students as a Health Career Counselor in Harvard's Office of Career Services, at the same time serving as a trustee of Radcliffe College and a member of the Board of Freshmen Advisors. She is a former member of the HAA Committees on Human Resources and Undergraduate and Graduate Relations.

Wigglesworth was a member of the Radcliffe Presidential Search Committee that selected Linda Wilson. In addition, she is a member of her 50th Reunion Committee and the Class Steering and Special Gifts Committees of her husband's Class of '41. She currently co-chairs the Ann Harvard Society, which fosters connection and communication between widows of Harvard College alumni, and is Secretary/Treasurer of Harvard Neighbors.