One hundred sixty-four students received degrees from the University Tuesday, in a wartime graduation without ceremonies. The degrees awarded included 48 bachelors of art, 40 bachelors of science, 23 masters of arts, 16 doctors of philosophy, and 12 masters of education.
Dr. Fridgeir Olasen of Reykjavik, Iceland, a Harvard graduate student for the past year, received his doctorate in Public Health posthumously. He was returning to his home in Iceland, a passenger on the 1542-ton Godafoss, when his boat was sunk by a German U-boat with a loss of 24 lives.
Specialized in Nutrition
Dr. Olasen earned his M.D. from the University of Iceland in 1938 and an M.P.H. from Vanderbilt University in 1943. Before he had been reported lost at sea on November 17, Dr. Olasen had completed his requirements for the Harvard degree. Working in the special field of Nutrition, he wrote a thesis entitled, "Vitamin A and Cancer."
Summa cum Laude awards among those graduating went to Fred Norman Fishman, in Engineering Sciences, and Hellmut Joseph Juretschke, in Electronic Physics, George Seiden, Peter S. Berger, Irving Constant, William H. White, Edward B. Burke, and Saul Touster, were the men receiving Magna cum Laude degrees.
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