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The Indiana Daily Student

IU professor honored by White House

IU professor and former U.S. Congressman Lee Hamilton is honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom Tuesday, Nov. 24 at the White House. The medal was given to 17 people this year and is the highest honor the president can award to a civilian.

After 34 years of representing Indiana in national politics, Lee Hamilton returned once more to Washington, D.C., to be 
recognized for his work.

Hamilton, distinguished scholar in the School of Global and International Studies, professor of practice in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a former congressman, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Nov. 24 at the White House.

“It is certainly a very great honor,” Hamilton said. “At the same time, I must recognize lots of people who have helped me along the way, especially Indiana voters, the IU faculty and my students.”

The medal was given to 17 people this year and is the highest honor the president can award to a civilian. It is presented to those who have made considerable contributions to United States’ interests, world peace or cultural and 
artistic pursuits. Other recipients this year included film director Steven Spielberg, late baseball player Yogi Berra and NASA mathematician Katherine G. Johnson.

“The thing that really shook me up was that one of the world’s leading mathematicians got the award, too,” Hamilton said. “I’m certainly in unusually 
distinguished company.”

Before teaching at IU, Hamilton represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years. He served as chair for the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.

“Lee Hamilton is a very singular figure in the history of U.S. Congress,” Lee Feinstein, dean of the School of Global and International Studies, said. “He was influential in the shaping of U.S. foreign policy for the better part of four decades.”

Even after he retired from Congress, Hamilton continued to serve the public in whatever way he could, said Paul Helmke, SPEA professor of practice and former mayor of Fort Wayne. After his retirement, he was co-chair of the 9/11 Commission, founded the Center for Congress at IU and continues to write regular news columns on foreign affairs.

“His commitment is what makes him stand out in how he tries to make this American experiment in self-government work,” Helmke said. “He is firm that people need to vote more, compromise more and question more, and he’s pushing all these people and systems to do a better job.”

Hamilton is not the first IU faculty member to receive the award. Former U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar, who also teaches in the School of Global and International Studies, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.

“The fact that both Hamilton and Lugar have been given this honor really speaks, I think, to the role IU has played historically and can still play in the political world,” Feinstein said.

Hamilton continues to work with students at IU by appearing on panels, leading discussions with classes and giving speeches and lectures. His work and presence is an asset and an honor to IU and the schools in which he is involved, 
Feinstein said.

“He really is what we all say we want in a politician,” Helmke said. “He’s honest, he’s invested in making the policies work and most importantly, he cares about the people.”

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