The Juilliard Medal, designed by Milton Glaser.

Juilliard's centennial celebrations officially begin with the School's 100th commencement on Friday, May 20, and the Alice Tully Hall stage will be more crowded than usual. For the occasion, instead of bestowing new honorary degrees, the School will award 17 past recipients of honorary Doctor of Music, Fine Arts, and Humane Letters degrees—most of whom are alumni, former faculty, or trustees—the Juilliard Medal, a commemorative medal designed by the artist Milton Glaser and commissioned by Juilliard. Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reeve, who died in October 2004, will receive the medal on his behalf. President Joseph W. Polisi will address the graduating class, which this year consists of 244 students, and the resident graduate string quartet, the Chiara, will perform.
Following are excerpts from citations read when this year’s honorees first received their honorary degrees. (Complete transcripts of the citations are also viewable.)

Slide Show: Honorary Doctorate Citations