"In terms of describing bourgeois Americanlife, he is our Mark "Twain," Said Senior Lectureron English and American Literature and LanguageMichael C. Blumenthal.

"Rabbit is Rich is, I think, oneveryone's list of greatest American works," saidBluementhal, who teaches Updike's novelSelf-Consciousness in his course. "He'sboth a consummate prose stylist and a reallybroad-ranging thinker and critic...certainly hewill go down as the essential American novelist ofthis period."

Isaac Stern

Stern, born in 1920 in Kreminiecz, Russia, is"one of the greatest violinists of our century,"said Ditson Professor of Music Reinhold Brinkmann.

Stern studied at the San Francisco Conservatoryfrom 1930 to 1937, and made his orchestral debutwith the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1936.He first performed in Carnegie Hall in 1943.

"He is a great musician, one of the greatperformers," Brinkmann said. "He is also someonewho is deeply concerned about society--he savedCarnegie Hall from destruction."

In 1956, Stern became the first American toperform in the Soviet Union after World War II.The violinist has made over 100 records, receivednumerous Grammy awards, and is an originatingmember of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Daniel Bell

Daniel Bell, who recently retired as Fordprofessor of the social sciences, is best knownfor his scholarship and writings on the influenceof science and technology on society.

"Words like `post-industrial society' are wordsthat come form him," said Ezra F. Vogel, whosucceeded Bell as Ford professor.

Bell's books include The End of Ideologyand The Coming of the Post IndustrialSociety.

His colleagues praise the extraordinary breadthof his scholarship.

"The main thing I like about him is that he'sbeen thinking actively about society and thefuture and less concerned about the mechanics ofsociology," said William Alonso, Saltonsallprofessor of public policy.

Robert M. Solow '47

Solow, institute professor at MIT, won a NobelPrize in 1987 for his work on the impact oftechnology on economic growth.