ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan, at its spring commencement exercises April 30-May 2, will award honorary degrees to Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations; Aharon Barak, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Israel; Shirley M. Malcom, director of education and human resources at the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author.

Annan, who will give the commencement speech at U-M, became U.N. secretary-general in 1997. A national of Ghana, he was employed by the United Nations in a number of other senior capacities. In all, he has devoted more than 30 years to the United Nations, serving in various places, including Addis Ababa, Cairo, Geneva, and New York. He was under-secretary-general for peace-keeping operations, when he was elected by the General Assembly as secretary-general in 1996. Annan will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the U-M.

Barak has served as president of the Israeli Supreme Court since 1995. He was appointed as a justice of the Supreme Court in 1978 and became deputy president of the court in 1993. He also served as attorney general in 1975-78 and was the legal adviser of the Israeli delegation at Camp David and at the peace negotiations with Egypt. He was appointed as lecturer at the School of Law, Hebrew University, in 1963, becoming a full professor in 1972. He was named dean of the School of Law in 1974. Barak will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the U-M.

Malcom, in her current position at AAAS, leads programs aimed at advancing education in science, mathematics and technology at all levels, improving the public understanding of science and technology and expanding the talent pool for science. Before that, she headed the AAAS’ Office of Opportunities in Science which administered programs for increasing the numbers of minorities, women and people with disabilities in science, engineering, and related fields. She serves on the President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and is a former member of the National Science Board. She will receive an honorary doctor of science degree from the U-M.

Toer is Indonesia’s most celebrated writer. The most famous of his literary works are the four novels that make up the Buru quartet—”This Earth of Mankind,” “Child of All Nations,” “Footsteps” and “House of Glass.” This quartet forms an epic work of historical fiction that rethinks the Indonesian national awakening that transformed life in the colonial Netherlands East Indies. Internationally, Toer has received the PEN Freedom-to-Write Award, the Wertheim Award from the Netherlands, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the top literary honor in Asia for journalism, literature, and creative communication arts. Toer will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters from the U-M.