Congressional Gold Medal Recipient

Father Theodore M. Hesburgh

(1) Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., has made outstanding and enduring contributions to American society through his activities in civil rights, higher education, the Catholic Church, the Nation, and the global community; (2) Father Hesburgh was a charter member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights from its creation in 1957 and served as chairperson of the Commission from 1969 to 1972; (3) Father Hesburgh was president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 until 1987, and has been president emeritus since 1987; (4) Father Hesburgh is a national and international leader in higher education; (5) Father Hesburgh has been honored with the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award from the National Catholic Education Association and with more than 130 honorary degrees; (6) Father Hesburgh served as co-chairperson of the nationally influential Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and as chairperson, from 1994 to 1996, of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University; (7) Father Hesburgh served under President Ford as a member of the Presidential Clemency Board, charged with deciding the fates of persons committing offenses during the Vietnam conflict; (8) Father Hesburgh served as chairman of the board of the Overseas Development Council and in that capacity led fundraising efforts that averted mass starvation in Cambodia in 1979 and 1980; (9) Father Hesburgh served from 1979 to 1981 as chairperson of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy, which made recommendations that served as the basis of congressional reform legislation enacted 5 years later; (10) Father Hesburgh served as ambassador to the 1979 United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development; and (11) Father Hesburgh has served the Catholic Church in a variety of capacities, including his service from 1956 to 1970 as the permanent Vatican representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and his service as a member of the Holy Sees delegation to the United Nations.

Hesburgh Honored in Washington



George Washington received the first, in 1790. Father Ted received the latest, July 13, 2000. At a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, President Clinton joined House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Strom Thurmond, the 97-year-old president pro tempore of the Senate, in presenting Notre Dames president emeritus the Congressional Gold Medal. The award recognizes highest contributions to the nation and has been given to only 122 individuals in history. The list includes Jonas Salk, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindburgh, Jessie Owens, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Bob Hope, Nelson Mandela and Thomas Edison. Hesburgh is the first from higher education. Clinton took time out from the Middle East peace talks at Camp David to speak in honor of Hesburgh, whom he said he and wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, got to know several years before they came to Washington. He described Hesburgh as "a man I admire very much a servant and child of God, a genuine American patriot and a citizen of the world" and said the priests greatness and achievements were rooted in his faith and his understanding of "our common humanity and our common tie as children of God." Hesburghs extensive record of public service includes 15 presidential appointments. He was an original member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in 1957 and served as chairman of the commission from 1969-72. He stepped down as president of Notre Dame in 1987 after 35 years but has remained active in public affairs, including trips in recent months to the Middle East as a member of a group established by the Wye Plantation Treaty and to Kosovo on a U.N. fact-finding mission on refugees. In his address to the crowd, the 83-year-old appeared vigorous but also deeply moved. He said that rather than a prepared speech, the occasion called for him to speak from the heart, "which is hard to do when your heart is in your throat." He thought back to what he said the happiest day in his life, when he was ordained a priest in Sacred Heart Church. "As I lay stretched out there on my face in the sanctuary . . . I have to say that I was filled with the Holy Spirit, who fortunately has stayed with me all these 57 years. And I was filled with the conviction that I wasnt being ordained for myself. I was an instrument hopefully in the hand of God. I wasnt to think that I simply belonged to Catholics, I belonged to every human being. I was not just to be a friend of Catholics but to be a friend of everyone, believer or nonbeliever. And I would not just try to be interested in this or that particular cause but in everything that affected justice and everything that affected peace." Of the praise heaped on himself at the ceremony by Indianas congressional delegation, Father Malloy and others, he said he was reminded of a quote by Adlai Stevenson, who said, "Its okay to hear yourself praised, as long as you dont inhale it." "My dear friends," he promised. "I will try not to inhale it." The Congressional Gold Medal came 36 years after Hesburgh received from President Lyndon Johnson the governments highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for his work as an educator and humanitarian. He also holds 144 honorary degrees, the most of any person in history. The only other Notre Dame graduate to receive the Congressional Gold Medal was
Dr. Thomas Dooley in 1961.