During the university’s commencement celebrations, Case Western Reserve University’s Class of 2026 will be joined by two distinguished individuals who will receive honorary degrees. These awards honor individuals who have achieved “excellence in any valued aspect of human endeavor, including the realm of scholarship, public service, and the performing arts.”
This year, Carl June, MD, will receive the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa, and Terrence Sejnowski (CIT ’68), PhD, will receive the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
They will be recognized during the university’s commencement convocation today (May 13) at 3:30 p.m. in the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center. Convocation also will feature keynote speaker Rebecca Liebert, president and CEO of The Lubrizol Corp.
Commencement Week will also include special events such as the third annual clap out, the Spartan send-off celebrating graduates, and diploma ceremonies. Find more information about event parking, safety procedures and other details.
For those unable to attend commencement events in person, a livestream of convocation will be available at case.edu/livestream/s1. The undergraduate studies ceremonies, as well as most school ceremonies, will also be aired on the livestream website and on the schools’ Facebook pages.
Read on to learn more about June and Sejnowski.
Carl June, MD
Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa
Physician-scientist Carl June, MD, has revolutionized immunotherapy, with discoveries that signal hope for patients and families affected by cancer. June, the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, discovered CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a patient’s own T-cells to identify and attack cancer cells. In 2017, treatment based on his discovery became the first of its kind to be approved by the Federal Drug Administration—establishing cellular immunotherapy as a pillar of cancer therapies.
While his early discovery targeted blood cancers, such as leukemia, June’s lab has begun to expand their findings for solid tumor cancers.
His research team’s work has led to more than 500 publications, with more than 100,000 citations. June’s Google Scholar h-index is 175. He is a member of the National Academies of Medicine and Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
June graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975 and went on to earn his medical degree from the Baylor College of Medicine in 1979, after which he completed a research fellowship with the World Health Organization Immunology Research and Training Center in Geneva, Switzerland. He completed an internship and residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, eventually serving as chief resident. He also conducted fellowship training at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
Terrence Sejnowski (CIT ’68), PhD
Doctor of Science, honoris causa
A pioneer in computational neuroscience, Terrence Sejnowski (CIT ’68), PhD, seeks to understand the human brain on a computational level. By modeling the electrical activity of neurons in the brain, he gains insights into how the brains generate behavior.
In doing so, Sejnowski, the Francis Crick Chair at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego, has uncovered new insights into the brain mechanisms underlying learning, memory, and thought. Sejnowski’s findings offer hope for new therapies for Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
Sejnowski made important advances in artificial intelligence through his research on learning algorithms for deep neural networks.
In recognition of his impactful research, Sejnowski was awarded the prestigious Brain Prize, the highest international honor in neuroscience, by the King of Denmark in 2024. In 2025, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific society.
He has authored over 500 scientific papers and 12 books. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Inventors.
A Cleveland native, Sejnowski earned his bachelor’s in physics from Case Western Reserve University in 1968 and his master’s and doctorate degrees in physics from Princeton University.
