On May 17, Pratt Institute bestowed an honorary degree on professor emerita Lynn Hershman Leeson in recognition of her prescient work as a new media artist and filmmaker. Hershman Leeson, the spring quarter Manetti Shrem California Studio Spotlight Artist, is recognized as one of the most influential media artists for her innovative work investigating issues that are now recognized as key to the workings of society. Her pioneering work in photography, video, film, performance, artificial intelligence, bio art, installation, interactive media and net-based media art explores the relationship between humans and technology, identity, surveillance, and the use of media as a tool of empowerment against censorship and political repression. Additionally, Hershman Leeson’s six feature films, Strange Culture, Teknolust, Conceiving Ada, !Women Art Revolution: A Secret History, Tania Libre, and The Electronic Diaries, are all distributed worldwide and have screened at the major film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival, among others. Her work on Teknolust earned her the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Prize for writing and directing. !Women Art Revolution received the Grand Prize Festival of Films on Art.