Carla Hayden

As part of the 2021 Commencement ceremony, Hobart and William Smith presented Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden with an honorary degree and with the Elizabeth Blackwell Award for her groundbreaking accomplishments and dedication to an informed public.
Hayden began her career with the Chicago Public Library, serving as a library associate and children's librarian from 1973 to 1979, when she became the library's young adult services coordinator. She subsequently served as library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987, before joining the University of Pittsburgh faculty as an assistant professor for Library and Information Science from 1987 to 1991.
Following her tenure as deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993, Hayden served as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, prior to her confirmation as Librarian of Congress.
In 2010, Hayden was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board. She was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal's Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling.
Hayden has received a number of other honors, including the American Library Association's Joseph W. Lippincott Award, Ms. Magazine's Woman of the Year award, the Johns Hopkins University President's Medal and honorary degrees from six institutions of higher education.
The author of A Frontier of Librarianship: Services for Children in Museums and editor of Venture into Cultures: A Resource Book of Multicultural Materials and Programs, Hayden earned a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.
BLACKWELL RECIPIENTS
May 16, 2021
Librarian of Congress Carla HaydenFebruary 3, 2021
Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader GinsburgJanuary 22, 2015
Dr. Janet L. YellenNovember 10, 2013
The Most Reverend Doctor Katharine Jefferts SchoriOctober 27, 2011
Eunice Kennedy Shriver-
April 23, 2009
Rabbi Sally J. Priesand -
April 24, 2008
Dr. Wangari Maathai Sc.D.'94, P '94, P '96 -
April 27, 2007
Dr. Priscilla A. Schaffer '64, Sc.D. '94 -
September 7, 2004
Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris September 9, 2003
Loretta C. FordSeptember 4, 2001
Madeleine K. AlbrightMay 15, 1998
Billie Jean KingFebruary 10, 1996
Wilma MankillerSeptember 23, 1993
Barbara JordanSeptember 27, 1991
Margaret Chase SmithFebruary 22, 1991
Dr. Antonia C. NovelloFebruary 19, 1988
Barbara Aronstein BlackOctober 9, 1985
Cicely SaundersMarch 8, 1985
Sandra Day O’ConnorFebruary 11, 1984
Hannah Holborn GrayFebruary 26, 1982
Agnes George de MilleFebruary 15, 1980
Mary Douglas LeakeySeptember 30, 1977
Mary S. CalderoneOctober 3, 1975
Antonia BricoJanurary 23, 1974
Frances Keller HardingMay 28, 1973
Judith Graham PoolJune 8, 1972
Marian AndersonApril 10, 1972
Mary LaskerJune 13, 1971
Mina ReesJune 14, 1970
Helen Brooke TaussigJune 15, 1969
Georgiana SibleyJune 16, 1968
Constance Baker MotleySeptember 8, 1967
Catharine MacfarlaneJuly 10, 1966
Fe del MundoJune 13, 1965
Annette LeMeitour-KaplunJune 14, 1964
Margaret MeadJune 9, 1963
Marty MannJune 10, 1962
Frances PerkinsJune 18,1961
Leona BaumgartnerJune 12, 1960
Miki SawadaJune 14, 1959
Elisabeth Luce MooreSeptember 27, 1958
Gwendolyn Grant Mellon