{"id":172460,"date":"2026-04-09T16:23:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=172460"},"modified":"2026-04-09T17:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:12:22","slug":"bates-announces-2026-commencement-honorands-including-writer-deborah-harkness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/09\/bates-announces-2026-commencement-honorands-including-writer-deborah-harkness\/","title":{"rendered":"Bates announces 2026 Commencement honorands, including writer Deborah Harkness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Deborah Harkness, historian and #1 internationally best-selling author of the <em>All Souls<\/em> series of novels, will deliver the Bates College Commencement address on Sunday, May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more than 30 years, Harkness taught the history of science, medicine, and magic, recently retiring as professor emerita of history at the University of Southern California. During that time, she published five novels in her <em>All Souls<\/em> series, including her debut novel, <em>The New York Times<\/em> best-selling <em>A Discovery of Witches<\/em>, which was also adapted into an enormously popular television series by the same name. Harkness will receive a Doctor of Letters degree.&nbsp;She will be joined by three other honorary degree recipients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>H. Scott Bierman \u201977, a leading economist in the study of game theory, president emeritus of Beloit College, and a former member of the Bates Board of Trustees, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ru Gunawardane \u201995, a biologist who has led groundbreaking research efforts in cell biology and drug therapies, will receive a Doctor of Science degree.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seema Hingorani, an investment executive at Morgan Stanley and founder of the nonprofit Girls Who Invest, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"328\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP-900x328.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP-900x328.webp 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP-400x146.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP-1200x437.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP-1536x559.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/2026_Honorands_3A_WP.webp 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">2025 Bates Honorands, from left to right: H. Scott Bierman &#8217;77, Ru Gunawardane &#8217;95, Seema Hingorani, and Deborah Harkness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are delighted to be honoring four outstanding and accomplished individuals alongside the Class of 2026,\u201d said Bates President Garry W. Jenkins. \u201cEach of them has a unique Bates connection \u2014 and each of them has made impressive and meaningful contributions to the world and to human understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 160th Commencement ceremony begins on Sunday, May 31, at 10 a.m. on the Historic Quad, with a livestream available on the Bates College website and social media platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>H. Scott Bierman \u201977<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>H. Scott Bierman \u201977 has built a distinguished career not only as an economist and educator, but also as a leader in higher education. As the 11<sup>th <\/sup>president of Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., he served from 2009 until his retirement in 2023. This followed 27 years at Carleton College, during which time Bierman was the inaugural Ada M. Harrison Chair of Teaching Social Sciences and Professor of Economics and served as dean of the college (2005-2009).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1363\" height=\"1919\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172462\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7102725948532982;width:654px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02.webp 1363w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02-213x300.webp 213w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02-639x900.webp 639w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02-446x628.jpg 446w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02-1091x1536.webp 1091w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Bierman_Photo_02-142x200.webp 142w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1363px) 100vw, 1363px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">H. Scott Bierman \u201977<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Bierman graduated from Bates in 1977, earning a bachelor of arts degree in economics and mathematics. He then earned a Ph.D. in economics in 1985 at the University of Virginia. While on the Carleton faculty, he taught courses in economics of the public sector, industrial organization, game theory, and behavioral economics. Bierman\u2019s <em>Game Theory with Economic Applications<\/em>, which he co-wrote in 1992, is considered an essential contribution to the field.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bierman brought his liberal arts college experience, as both faculty and senior academic administrator, to his work as a member of the Board of Trustees at Bates for three five-year terms. Shortly after retiring from the board, Bierman served as special advisor to the presidential search committee that brought Garry W. Jenkins to Bates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ru Gunawardane \u201995&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout her career as a biologist, Ru Gunawardane \u201995 has led research efforts exploring novel drug therapies and technology to treat disease. She is currently the executive vice president and director of the Allen Institute for Cell Science, a role that combines her experience in both academic and biotechnology settings with her passion for cell biology.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172463\" style=\"width:622px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot.webp 1500w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot-900x900.webp 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot-628x628.jpg 628w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/R.-Gunawardane-headshot-200x200.webp 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ru Gunawardane \u201995&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Located in Seattle, Wash., the prominent nonprofit research institute is focused on studying how information encoded in human genes becomes cells, how these cells create organs and tissues, and how cells change when they are diseased, with the goal of driving advancements in cancer therapies and regenerative medicine. Gunawardane leads a highly multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and other specialists working together to understand the basic principles of how cells organize themselves and transition across cell states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gunawardane has served as executive vice president and director at the Allen Institute since 2020. She joined the institute at its inception in 2015 as the director of stem cells and gene editing. In this role, she led the creation of the Allen Cell Collection, a publicly available set of gene-edited human stem cells that was the first of its kind.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier, Gunawardane worked in both large pharmaceutical and start-up environments, including Amgen and Ambit Biosciences, on projects exploring drug treatments pertaining to oncology, inflammation, and cardiovascular disease. She majored in biochemistry at Bates, then earned her Ph.D. in biology from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, where she studied breast cell migration and invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, Gunawardane has often met with Bates STEM Scholars to share advice about the importance of networking with alumni, pursuing internships, and exploring other opportunities to prepare for careers in science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Deborah Harkness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deborah Harkness is a professional historian and the author of <em>The<\/em> <em>New York Times<\/em> best-selling <em>All Souls <\/em>novels, published in 39 countries and languages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harkness is now a professor emerita of history at the University of Southern California, where she retired from her role as a full-time professor in 2025 after 21 years with the university. At USC, she taught courses on European history and the history of science. Earlier in her career, she taught medical history at the Northwestern University Medical School, the history of science and medicine at the University of California, Davis, paleography at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies in Oxford, England, and early modern European history at Colgate University.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1475\" height=\"1919\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172467\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7688982256328345;width:628px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1.webp 1475w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1-231x300.webp 231w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1-692x900.webp 692w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1-483x628.jpg 483w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/Deborah-Harkness-1-1181x1536.webp 1181w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1475px) 100vw, 1475px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Deborah Harkness (Courtesy of Austin Sandhaus Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>She published <em>A Discovery of Witches<\/em>, the first book in what would become the <em>All Souls<\/em> series, in 2011, prompted by wondering to herself, \u201cIf there really are witches and vampires, what do they do for a living?\u201d <em>All Souls<\/em>\u2019 lead character is a Bates alumna: Diana Bishop, a historian of alchemy and Yale professor who also attended Oxford \u2014 not dissimilar from Harkness herself, who has spoken about having applied and been accepted to Bates. After their wide success in print, the books were adapted into a multi-year television series that premiered in 2018.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to her novels, Harkness published two works of historical scholarship: <em>John Dee\u2019s Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature<\/em> (Cambridge University Press, 1999) and <em>The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution<\/em> (Yale University Press, 2007). She has received numerous accolades for her work, including fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Humanities Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harkness earned her bachelor\u2019s degree from Mount Holyoke College, her master\u2019s degree from Northwestern University, and her P.h.D. from the University of California, Davis, during which she researched the history of magic and science in Europe, particularly from 1500 to 1700. Her research has taken her to libraries around the world, including Oxford University&#8217;s Bodleian Library, which plays a central role in <em>All Souls<\/em>. Harkness is also an advocate for ovarian cancer awareness; she was diagnosed with the disease in 2021 and has publicly shared her experience throughout treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><br>Seema R. Hingorani<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seema R. Hingorani has used her expertise to lift up girls and women and to create access to opportunity. Hingorani&nbsp;has thirty years of investment experience across both the private and public sectors. She is currently a managing director, senior client advisor, and member of the Operating Committee at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. As a member of the senior leadership team at Morgan Stanley, she focuses on strategic client relationships, investment talent development, and diversity initiatives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-172464\" style=\"width:686px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25.webp 1500w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25-900x900.webp 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25-628x628.jpg 628w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/04\/seema.hingorani-12-18-25-200x200.webp 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Seema R. Hingorani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Hingorani is also the founder and board chair of Girls Who Invest, a national nonprofit organization that aims to balance the gender inequity in portfolio management and executive leadership in the investment management industry. Founded in 2015, Girls Who Invest provides not only&nbsp;educational programs, and a meaningful paid internship for talented and interested young women, but also provides a robust, ongoing support community. Over the past ten years, more than 4,000 college women have participated in the program, with three out of four remaining in the finance industry, increasing opportunity and laying a foundation to address significant gender underrepresentation in the leadership of finance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hingorani earned degrees in psychology and philosophy at Yale University and an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bates will recognize four honorary degree recipients during Commencement on May 31, including Commencement speaker Deborah Harkness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1917,"featured_media":172636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[12453,4237],"class_list":["post-172460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batesnews","tag-commencement-2026","tag-honorands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1917"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172460"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172645,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172460\/revisions\/172645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}