Harvard Will Honor Pritchett, Nevelson

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker, novelist V.S. Pritchett, sculptor Louise Nevelson, Bishop of Stockholm and former Divinity School Dean Krister Stendahl are expected to be among 10 who will receive honorary degrees at Harvard's Commencement exercises Thursday.

In addition, sources have indicated that Pierce Professor of Psychology Emeritus B.F. Skinner, the lamed behavioral psychologist, will be among those being honored in the annual ceremony.

Skinner, and members of the Psychology and Social Relations Department contacted last week, refused to confirm or deny that he would receive an honorary degree.

The names of the honorary degree recipients are generally kept secret util shortly before noon on Commencement day, when President Bok presents the awards.

But in recent years the name of the main Commencement speaker, who is traditionally chosen from among the honorands, has been made public months in advance. Harvard announced in April that Volcker will deliver the main address during this Thursday afternoon in Tercentenary Theater.

Honorary degree recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the Corporation. The committee's choices, selected from a list of nominations from throughout the University a subject to approval by the Corporation and Governing Boards.

The awarding of Nevelson's degree will coincide with the unveiling tomorrow of her 1972 sculpture "Night Wall I" at a ceremony in front of Langdell Hall at Harvard Law School.

Nevelson, who lives in New York, is know both for the her earlier interiors sculptures in painted wood and her more recent outdoor sculptures in metal.

V.S. Paritchett is best known for his short stories, though he has been prominent as a writer of biographies, literary criticism and other nonfiction work. In 1978, he ended his 50-year tenure as literary critic for the New Statesman, the English journal.

Stendahl, who served as dean of the Divinity School for II years until 1979, left for Stockholm last tall at a time when the Evangelical Lutheran Church--one of the world's last remaining state-controlled churches--was experiencing a sharp drop in popularity.

The 81 year-old Skinner, a native of Susquehanna, Penn., is known as a radical behaviorist who rebelled against the hypothetical approach to the science of behavior. His experimental approach led his development of what came to be known as the "Skinner Box," a controlled environment that allowed him to record behavioral patterns.

Stendahl, who served as dean of the Divinity School for II years until 1979, left for Stockholm last tall at a time when the Evangelical Lutheran Church--one of the world's last remaining state-controlled churches--was experiencing a sharp drop in popularity.

The 81 year-old Skinner, a native of Susquehanna, Penn., is known as a radical behaviorist who rebelled against the hypothetical approach to the science of behavior. His experimental approach led his development of what came to be known as the "Skinner Box," a controlled environment that allowed him to record behavioral patterns.