Media businessman Thornton F. Bradshaw addressed the College as part of its 1986 Commencement exercises. Mr. Bradshaw also received an honorary degree from the College.

Thomas Francis Banchoff, Professor of Mathematics at Brown University, was presented the 1987 Priestley Award for his use of computer graphics to visualize four dimensional objects. At the ceremony Dr. Banchoff gave an address titled "Visualizing the Fourth Dimension."

Francis Harry Compton Crick, Kieckhefer Distinguished Professor at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and 1962 Nobel Laureate in Medicine, was presented the 1988 Priestley Award for his discovery of the structure of DNA and his subsequent work on the genetic code and the mechanism of...

Vartan Gregorian, President of Brown University from 1989-97, addressed the College as part of the 1989 Commencement exercises. Dr. Gregorian also received an honorary degree from the College.

Playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote, screenwriter for "To Kill A Mockingbird", was presented with the 1990 Arts Award. The ceremony featured a lecture and discussion.

Harry B. Gray, Director of the Beckman Institute and Arnold O. Beckman Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, was presented the 1991 Priestley Award for his research in inorganic photochemistry and bioinorganic chemistry. At the ceremony Dr. Gray gave an address titled...

Solomon H. Snyder, Distinguised Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology, and Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, was presented the 1992 Priestley Award for his work to isolate the brain's opiate receptor, leading to the development of new pain management techniques. At...

George M. Woodwell, President and Director of the Woods Hole Research Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, was presented the 1993 Priestley Award for his research on the structure and function of Natural Communities and their role as segments of the biosphere. At the ceremony, Dr. Woodwell gave...

Cognitive Scientist Marvin Minsky, Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was presented the 1995 Priestley Award for his pioneering work in the field of artificial intelligence. At the ceremony, Dr. Minsky gave an address titled "The New...

Leon M. Lederman, Director Emeritus of the Dermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Pritzker Professor of Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was presented with the 1996 Priestley Award for his work in particle physics. At the ceremony, which was held in the Anita Tuvin Schlechter...

Geophysicist Frank Press, the Cecil and Ida Green senior Fellow at the Carnegie Institute of Washington and President Emeritus of the National Academy of Sciences, received the 1997 Priestley Award for his work as a Presidential advisor for science policy and an advocate for the support of...

J. Michael Bishop, cancer researcher and recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, was awarded the 1999 Priestley Award for his contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer. At the ceremony, Dr. Bishop gave an address titled "Opening the Black Box of Cancer. "