President Pelton to Receive Governor’s Award from Mass Humanities

Update: Watch President Pelton receive the Governor’s Award in the Humanities

President Lee Pelton is being honored by Mass Humanities with its Governor’s Award in the Humanities in recognition of his civic leadership and support for the liberal arts.

Pelton, along with three other leaders, will received the award Sunday, October 25, in a virtual awards event. Established in 2014, the Governor’s Awards recognize individuals “for their public actions, grounded in an appreciation of the humanities, to enhance civic life in the Commonwealth.” The Mass Humanities Board of Directors selects nominees, who are confirmed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

“The liberal arts are deeply rooted and connected to human experience and human endeavor,” Pelton said. “I’m honored to be a recipient of a Governor’s Award in the Humanities. The liberal arts gave me the most powerful of gifts: They taught me how to be in the world and, mostly, they taught me to stand for something, because I learned to see how the humanities and social sciences were interconnected worldwide.”

Pelton writes and speaks internationally on the value of liberal education and leadership development, civic engagement, and diversity and inclusion. He serves on the boards of directors of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, WGBH, MIT Press, Harvard Graduate School Alumni Council, Boston Arts Academy Foundation, Facing History and Ourselves, and the Barr Foundation.

Recently, he was recognized by the Boston Chamber of Commerce as a 2020 Distinguished Bostonian, and was asked by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead the Boston Racial Equity Fund. He has been named to Boston Business Journal’s 50 Most Powerful Leaders in Boston list; Boston Magazine’s One of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston, the 21 Most Powerful People in Boston Business, and 75 Bold Thinkers Who Are Shaping Our City and Our World; and Boston’s 100 Most Influential People of Color (Get Konnected!).

Pelton will be honored alongside three other recipients: jessie little doe baird, citizen and vice chairwoman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Women’s Medicine Society; Al Griggs, board chair of CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture); and Fredi Stevenson, co-founder and chair emeritus of Summer Search Boston.

The Governor’s Awards, Mass Humanities’ major annual fundraiser, will be held virtually Sunday, October 25, 5:00-7:00 pm.