DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University will award honorary degrees during May 11 commencement exercises to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; U.S. Navy Admiral Frank L. 'Skip' Bowman; artist, author and feminist Judy Chicago; physician-scientist Dr. Richard D. Klausner; and dance leader Charles L. Reinhart, President Nannerl O. Keohane announced Wednesday.

Commencement, featuring an address by Annan, will be held at 10 a.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Annan, now in his second term as leader of the U.N., is well known for his crusading work against poverty and HIV/AIDS, for championing the protection of human rights and the environment, and for reforming the U.N. organization. In 2001, his efforts were recognized when he and the United Nations were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Annan joined the United Nations system in 1962 and has worked in the organization for four decades, including service with the World Health Organization, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. During the 1990s, Annan oversaw tremendous growth in the U.N.'s peacekeeping operations and was instrumental in dealing with major world crises. He oversaw the transition in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Dayton Peace Agreement; attempted to gain Iraqi compliance with U.N. resolutions in 1998; and since 2000 has intensified his efforts to encourage peaceful resolutions to Middle East conflicts.

Since becoming secretary-general in 1997, Annan has focused attention not only on peace and security, but also on a whole range of economic and social issues made more urgent by globalization. He has affirmed the international community's commitment to Africa, and in his Millennium Report issued in April 2000, he urged the member states to work to end poverty and inequality, to improve education, reduce HIV/AIDS, protect the environment and protect people from violence and conflict. Annan will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters.

Bowman, who began his distinguished naval career after graduating from Duke in 1966, is the director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. As such, he oversees the design, development, procurement, operation and maintenance of all of the nuclear propulsion plants that power the Navy's fleet of nuclear warships. He is also responsible for the research and development of designs for future warships.

Bowman, who earned master of science degrees in nuclear engineering and naval architecture/marine engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is also a graduate of the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. In a Naval career spanning more than three decades, Bowman has served on a number of strategic and nuclear attack submarines, including serving as commander of the USS City of Corpus Christi, and held several senior policy-making roles.

Bowman has won numerous awards for his leadership and contributions to U.N. peacekeeping in the post-Cold War era. Twice, Bowman has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the military's highest non-combat decoration. Bowman, who serves on the Board of Visitors for the Pratt School of Engineering, will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters.

By championing the idea that art is a vehicle for intellectual transformation and social change, Chicago pioneered feminist art and art education in the early 1970s. Her most famous work, "The Dinner Party," is a multimedia project that traces the history of women in Western civilization and has been seen by more than 1 million people during 15 exhibitions in six countries. She is the author of seven books, including "Through the Flower: My Struggle as a Woman Artist" and "Beyond the Flower: The Autobiography of a Feminist Artist."

In 1996, the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Radcliffe College became the home to Chicago's papers. She is the first living artist to be included in this important archive.

In fall 2000, Chicago served as an artist in residence at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chicago, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, will be awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts.

Klausner is the executive director of the global health program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, whose overarching goal is to improve global health equity. Previously, Klausner held numerous high-ranking posts in the scientific community, including president of the Case Institute of Health, Science and Technology, director of the National Cancer Institute, senior fellow at the National Academies of Science, adviser to the Presidents of the Academies for counter-terrorism and liaison to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Klausner is well-known for his work in cellular and molecular biology, and on the ways molecules are transported within cells and communicate with one another. He has written several books and more than 270 articles in scientific journals. In the mid-1990s, he led a national committee responsible for writing standards for science education for U.S. students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

In 1973, Klausner graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor of science degree. Four years later, he earned his Doctor of Medicine from Duke. In 1994, he was the recipient of the Duke Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award. At commencement, he will receive a Doctor of Science.

Reinhart is the president and co-director of the American Dance Festival, which has been based at Duke for the past 25 years. His career in the arts spans even longer, with Reinhart working as an arts producer, manager, festival director, consultant and manager since 1955. In the 1960s, he managed several internationally renowned dance companies, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company. He became president of the dance festival in 1968. In 1996, he and his late wife Stephanie became co-artistic advisers for dance to the Kennedy Center.

Reinhart is vice president of the World Dance Alliance and a member of the board of directors of The Anglo-American Contemporary Dance Foundation and the Theatre Development Fund, where he is chairman of its dance committee and a member of the Astaire Awards Jury. In 1985, he won the Morrison Award for service to the arts in the state of North Carolina; one year later, the French government honored him for his efforts to introduce French modern dance to the United States. He has also received Dance/USA's 1994 honors for lifetime achievement in dance. And in 2002, the French government again honored Reinhart by awarding him the Commandeur dans l'orde des Artes et des Lettres.

Reinhart, who earned a bachelor of arts degree from Rutgers University, will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts.