At this year's Graceful Evening the Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented to Tyler J. VanderWeele, PhD, the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Epidemiology in the Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. VanderWeele graduated from Grace Lutheran School in 1993.

He holds degrees from the University of Oxford, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University in mathematics, philosophy, theology, finance, and biostatistics. His research focuses on methodology in the biomedical and social sciences, particularly on how we distinguish between association (where one variable provides information about another) and causation (one variable causes another). He has also done extensive work in the areas of perinatal, psychiatric and genetic epidemiology, the social sciences, and the study of religion and health.

VanderWeele serves as the Director of the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard and as Co-Director of Harvard's Initiative on Health, Religion, and Spirituality. He has published numerous articles on flourishing, the idea that human well-being consists of doing well in a broad range of areas: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. He has also studied relationships between religion and health.

VanderWeele is married and he and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Jonathan, age 6, and Catherine, age 3. His hobbies include reading, piano, classical and choral music, tennis, skiing, food, and wine.

VanderWeele's message responding to the news of his selection as the Distinguished Alumni Award recipient for 2022, acknowledged the role of Grace Lutheran School in his life: I am very happy to accept, and feel very honored indeed. Grace Lutheran School unquestionably played a very important role in my life and in my academic, social, and spiritual development. I am very grateful for the school and for all of the teachers that I had.

He will accept the award via video, since he cannot be present in person. His parents who still reside in Oak Park, will be Graceful Evening guests.