Author Jane Hamilton is 2018 Commencement speaker at Lake Forest

The College’s 140th Commencement is at Ravinia Festival Park in Highland Park, Illinois.

Also receiving honorary degrees will be Gary T. Johnson, president of the Chicago History Museum, and Dr. Teepu Siddique, the Les Turner ALS Foundation/Herbert C. Wenske Foundation Professor at Northwestern University.

Hamilton is critically praised as a novelist of surpassing gifts, wit and wisdom about the human condition as it persists through challenging times. Author of the bestseller A Map of the World, her Wisconsin-based novel that was adapted into a critically acclaimed film, Hamilton is also celebrated for The Book of Ruth, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction; Disobedience; The Short History of a Prince; and her most recent novel, The Excellent Lombards (2016). A resident of Rochester, Wisconsin, Hamilton is an alumna of the Ragdale Foundation’s creative writing residency program, and a graduate of Carleton College.

President of the Chicago History Museum since 2005, Johnson is a lifelong Chicagoan who has substantially expanded the Museum’s community outreach programs and personally visited more than 300 school classrooms to talk with young students about the museum and Chicago history. He also serves as president of Museums in the Park, an association of Chicago’s major museums. Before joining the Chicago History Museum, Johnson was a partner in two global law firms based in Chicago, and developed a record of impressive leadership in civic affairs and civil rights. A Rhodes Scholar, he was educated at Yale University, Oxford University, and Harvard University.

Siddique is the founder of the Neuromuscular Disorders Program and Neurogenetics Laboratory at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. A physician-scientist and professor, he has led for the past quarter-century the Les Turner ALS Research Laboratory, which focuses on the clinical and molecular characteristics of the disease and the development of novel therapeutics. Siddique pioneered the molecular genetic approach to ALS, leading a world-wide collaboration that in 1993 successfully identified the first genetic cause of the disease. Born in Pakistan, Siddique studied botany at the University of the Punjab’s Islamia College before coming to the United States and completing his medical training. He is the recipient of numerous national and international scientific research awards.

Hamilton, Johnson, and Siddique will be presented honorary degrees during the May 12 Commencement ceremonies upon confirmation by the College’s Board of Trustees.

About Lake Forest College

Founded in 1857, Lake Forest College is a selective residential, national liberal arts institution located 30 miles north of downtown Chicago. The College has 1,550 students representing 44 states and 72 countries. For more information, visit www.lakeforest.edu.