At the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2024, Notre Dame will award four honorary degrees to leaders in business, science, the arts and the Catholic Church, according to a University press release.
The recipients include business leader John Brennan, pharmacologist Sabine Hadida, Cardinal Christophe Pierre and Jaume Plensa, an internationally renowned artist. The distinguished leaders will be honored alongside Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, the chief executive officer of Feeding America, who was announced as the recipient of the Laetare Medal in March.
Brennan will be named an honorary doctor of laws. As the current chair emeritus, he became part of Vanguard, an investment management company, in 1982. Throughout his tenure, he has held roles including president, CEO, and chair of the board. Brennan also serves as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees.
Hadida, who will recieve an honorary doctor of science, is a senior vice president and San Diego site head at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. She was awarded the 2024 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences and the 2023 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, along with her co-recipient Paul Negulescu, for her revolutionary work in drug development and research. Hadida earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in pharmacy from the University of Barcelona in Spain.
Pierre has served as the apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2016. He will receive an honorary doctor of laws. According to the press release, “Pierre has devoted his life in service to the Catholic Church around the world, first as a parish priest and later as a member of the Vatican diplomatic service.”
Plensa will be awarded an honorary doctor of fine arts in recognition of his sculptures and public art installations. This includes ‘Endless,’ which welcomes visitors at the entrance of the Notre Dame Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, and 'Tale Teller VI,' which has been displayed on campus since 2014. His art “invites contemplation about connections among spirituality, the body and collective memory and focus on supporting global human rights and denouncing oppression, inequality and injustice.”
The honorary degree recipients will be recognized at the commencement ceremony on May 19.
