The day after President Pitzer’s inauguration in October, 1962 there was a full schedule of Semi-centennial events, culminating in the awarding of the Medals of Honor. Here is Corinne Tsanoff’s touching description, highlighted (at least for me) by her gentle concern for and enjoyment of the Tsanoff’s long time friends and colleagues Harold and Marjorie Wilson, both quite elderly by this time:

Here’s Dr. Wilson, Rice’s first physics professor, receiving his medal. Bill Akers seems to be about to hand it to Pitzer and that looks like a very young Ron Sass in charge of the box. (One of the earliest posts I wrote here, by the way, was about one of Sass’s other duties at the Semi-centennial–organizing the foreign dignitaries for the inaugural procession, which was not as simple as it sounds.)

And here’s the moment Tsanoff  received his. That’s a genuine smile on Pitzer’s face, by the way:

I found the medal in the boxes that came from the storage unit in Austin:

Bonus: I’m in Washington state for our usual July trip but my friends on campus are still staying alert.