Mon Sep 16 13:43:23 UTC 2024: ## Four Yale Alumni Honored with Prestigious Wilbur Cross Medals

**NEW HAVEN, CT** – Four distinguished alumni of Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to scholarship, teaching, and public service with the prestigious Wilbur Cross Medals.

The honorees are:

* **Anne Ferguson-Smith (’86 PhD, Biology)**, a renowned geneticist and the Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics at the University of Cambridge.
* **John Guillory (’79 PhD, English Language and Literature)**, a scholar of Renaissance literature and the Julius Silver Professor of English Emeritus at New York University.
* **Kai Li (’86 PhD, Computer Science)**, a groundbreaking computer scientist and the Paul M. Wythes ’55, P’86 and Marcia R. Wythes P’86 Professor at Princeton University.
* **James Scott (’67 PhD, Political Science)**, a pioneering social scientist and former director of Yale’s Program in Agrarian Studies, will be honored posthumously.

The Wilbur Cross Medals, the highest honor bestowed upon GSAS alumni, commemorate the legacy of Wilbur Lucius Cross, former dean of the Graduate School and governor of Connecticut. The awards are presented annually by the GSAS Alumni Association.

This year’s honorees will return to Yale for a series of campus events, including public lectures. A special gathering will be held on October 7th at the Yale Farm to celebrate the life and contributions of James Scott, who passed away on July 19th.

**Ferguson-Smith**, a world expert on mammalian development and genetic imprinting, will deliver a lecture on “Epigenetic Inheritance – Models and Mechanisms.”

**Guillory**, whose work focuses on Renaissance literature and the history of literary study, will speak on “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know: On the Concept of Social Capital.”

**Li**, a leader in computer systems, will lecture on “The Transformative Power of Education: From Factory Floors in China to Academic and Entrepreneurial Success in the U.S.”

**Scott**, a prolific author and scholar, will be remembered through a lecture titled “James C. Scott: In a Field of His Own,” delivered by Nancy Lee Peluso and Ian Shapiro.

The lectures are free and open to the public and will take place on October 7th at various locations on the Yale campus.

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