A Nobel Prize-winning doctor, a noted Irish poet, a media mogul, a former president of Ireland and five professors from Harvard and Yale are this year's nine honorary degree recipients.

The degrees, which will be announced at this morning's Commencement Ceremony, are conferred by President Neil L. Rudenstine to distinguished leaders in areas ranging from politics to literature.

This year, honorary degrees will be awarded to: Samuel H. Beer, Robert A. Dahl, Gertrude B. Elion, Seamus J. Heaney, John H. Johnson, Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Robinson, Henry Rosovsky and Jean-Pierre Serre.

The degree recipients were honored at a dinner last night at Annenberg Hall, which featured smoked salmon and noisettes of lamb with merlot sauce.

Samuel H. Beer

Beer, a long-time Harvard professor and recipient of the Harvard University Centennial Medal, has been an active participant in U.S. politics for many years. He served as the national chair of Americans for Democratic Action, the nation's oldest liberal lobbying group, from 1959 to 1962.

A graduate of University of Michigan, Beer has worked with several U.S. Presidents, including former Crimson president Franklin D. Roosevelt '04 and President Clinton.

Beer, who has written numerous works on British politics, retired from Harvard's government department in 1981. He will receive a Doctorate of Laws.

Robert A. Dahl

Though he spent more than 40 years teaching political science at Yale University, Dahl will accept an honorary degree from Harvard this morning.

A two-time Woodrow Wilson Award recipient for his works in political theory, his ideas have reshaped thinking on the topics of democracy and political economy.

Dahl, who retired from Yale in 1986, will receive a Doctorate of Laws.

Gertrude B. Elion

A doctor whose drug research helped to save the lives of countless leukemia patients and earned her a Nobel Prize in Medicine and the National Medalof Science, Elion will be honored today with adoctorate of science.

One of only 10 women who have been awarded aNobel Prize in science, Elion furtherdistinguished herself by being one of only ahandful to do so without a Ph.D.

Elion did much of her research atpharmaceutical giant Glaxo Wellcome, where shehelped develop a drug that prevents the body fromrejecting foreign tissue, aiding kidneytransplants.