An Honorary High School Diploma for Dr. Carl Djerassi ’42

At a special ceremony at the College this morning, world-famous chemist Dr. Carl Djerassi '42 was presented with an honorary high school diploma in front of ACS students, faculty, and staff. Special guests to the event included Richard Damstra, Cultural Affairs Attaché at the American Embassy, members of the ACS Board of Trustees Valentin Georgiev and Ivo Panteleev, Dr. Djerassi’s pre-war classmates Prof. Nikola Alexiev ’42 and Lilyana Ikonopisova ‘42, members of Dr. Djerassi’s family, and media representatives.

Dr. Djerassi was a student at ACS just before WWII. After attending the College for a year and a half, he moved to the United States where he pursued higher education without actually graduating from high school. Dr. Djerassi is most famous for developing the oral contraceptive pill. He is also a novelist and playwright.

In his speech full of humor and dear memories from the times spent in Bulgaria and the College, Dr. Djerassi shared how incredibly moved he was to finally, close to the age of 90, be able to add a high-school diploma to his numerous doctoral degrees. Next, Dr. Djerassi will attend a premiere of his play Insufficiency tonight at AUBG where he will also be the Keynote Speaker at the Commencement Ceremony tomorrow.

On the photo: Valentin Georgiev, ACS President Dr. Johnson, Dr. Carl Djerassi '42, and Ivo Panteleev