CAMBRIDGE - Flanked by his wife, a Supreme Court Justice who happens to be his former staffer, a world-renowned cellist and the president of Harvard University, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy accepted an honorary degree from Harvard University on Monday.

In his remarks in front of a packed house that included Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Kennedy emphasized how special the timing of this award is coming right on the heels of President-elect Barack Obama's victory in November.

"There is no other time when I would rather receive this honor than this year- at this turning point in American history," the Hyannis Port Democrat said. "Just one month ago, our citizens powerfully re-affirmed the promise of America. That promise has been central to my service, to the contributions of my brothers, and to the age-old dream of millions. Long after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, long after Brown v. Board of Education, long after a young Baptist minister stood on the steps of Lincoln's Memorial and called the nation to the dream of equality, the moment finally is here. The time is now and the long march of progress has arrived at one extraordinary day in American history. We elected a 44th president who, by virtue of his race, could have been legally owned by the first 16 Presidents of the United States. We judged him, as Martin Luther King said, not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character and the capacity of his leadership."

"For America," Kennedy went on, emphasizing his words with hand gestures, "this is not just a culmination, but a new beginning. Because in Barack Obama, we will now have a president who offers not just the audacity, but the possibility of hope for one America, strong and prosperous and free- ‘from sea to shining sea.'"

Kennedy was received with a lengthy standing ovation and had to stop his speech several times for applause. At one point, he referred to some advice he once received from his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

"During my service in the United States Senate, I have often been called a liberal, and it usually was not meant as a compliment," he said. "But I remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. He said: ‘If by a Liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind. Someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions. Someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties. Someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and the suspicion that grips us. If that is what they mean by a liberal. I am proud to be a liberal."

Speaking in the historic Sanders Theatre, Harvard University President Drew Faust applauded Kennedy's work during his 46 years in the United States Senate after cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed.

"Sen. Kennedy has worked tirelessly on behalf of society's most vulnerable members - the poor, the unemployed, the disabled, the elderly, the seriously ill, veterans wounded in battle, newcomers from foreign lands, men and women facing bias in employment and housing, children deprived of the chance of a decent start in life," she said. "He has met them by the thousands and he has made himself a part of their struggles and of their hopes for a better life."

Faust also recalled the 1955 Harvard-Yale football game in which Kennedy caught a touchdown pass. Jokingly, Faust said, "But perhaps his most legendary achievement occurred on a snowy day 53 Novembers ago when, as a not especially fleet-footed but exceptionally sure handed wide receiver, he scored the crimson's only touchdown of the Harvard-Yale game of 1955."

The ceremony was opened by Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who worked for Kennedy in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Breyer recalled two pieces of advice he received from Kennedy. The first, he said, was about working with others toward a common goal.

"He'd tell us, for example, that if you want a particular result, don't worry too much about getting credit," Breyer said, "He would say be generous with the credit. Tell others what good ideas they have. If you're successful, he'd say there will be plenty of credit to go around."

"And if you're not successful," he added with a grin, "who wants the credit for that?"

Breyer also recalled some advice that Kennedy said was passed onto him from his father.

"What you should do in life is to gather able men and women of different backgrounds and talents and get them to -  and this is the word, a simple word - help," he said. "Help each other, help the senator you work for. Above all, help those who need your help the most. That's what I think it is. Sen. Kennedy's life has been about achieving goals that do that very thing. And he's devoted 46 incredible years to doing it."