Hank Aaron
Hank Aaron is one of the most accomplished players in the
history of baseball. Aaron holds the career records for home
runs, 755 in his 23-year career, runs-batted-in and total bases.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Mr.
Aaron played first on a professional Negro League team, and was
then recruited by the Milwaukee Braves and sent to a minor
league team in Jacksonville, Florida, where he was one of the
first black players to break the color line in the deep South.
Mr. Aaron was undeterred in his pursuit of excellence by
frequent encounters with racism throughout his career.
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby became one of the most popular television performers
of the 1980's with the success of The Cosby Show, which
revolutionized the portrayal of African Americans on television.
Throughout his career, Dr. Cosby has appealed to the common
humanity of his audience, rather than the differences that might
divide it. Dr. Cosby's career has included stand up comedy, the
adventure show, I Spy, situation comedies and children's
programming that highlighted his interest and dedication to
education.
Placido Domingo
Placido Domingo has become a world renowned opera singer,
conductor and arts administrator over his 44-year career. He was
blessed with an unusually flexible voice, which has allowed him
to perform in 118 different roles, more than any other tenor in
the annals of opera performance. As a conductor, he has led
opera performances at such opera houses as the Metropolitan and
the Weiner Staatsoper, and he has conducted such orchestras as
the Chicago and London Symphonies. Mr. Domingo presently serves
as the Artistic Director of the Washington Opera and the Los
Angeles Opera.
Dr. Peter Drucker
Dr. Peter Drucker is the world's foremost pioneer of management
theory. Dr. Drucker has championed concepts such as
privatization, management by objective and decentralization. He
has served as a consultant to numerous governments, public
service institutions and major corporations. Dr. Drucker is a
Professor of Social Sciences and Management at the Claremont
Graduate University in Claremont, California, which named its
Graduate School of Management after him. He helped establish and
continues to serve as the Honorary Chairman of the Peter F.
Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management in New York City,
which awards the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit
Innovation. He is currently applying his expertise to the
management of churches and other faith-based institutions and to
the reorganization of universities worldwide.
Katharine Graham
Katharine Graham led the Washington Post to its place as one of
the Nation's leading daily newspapers and was known as an editor
who maintained excellence by supporting her reporters and
encouraging those who worked for her. Her tenure at the helm of
the Post was marked by aggressive pursuit of stories like the
publication of the "Pentagon Papers" and the burglary at the
Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate
complex. Graham continued as Chairwoman of the Post until 1993.
Dr. D.A. Henderson
Dr. D.A. Henderson is best known for his leadership of the World
Health Organization's global smallpox eradication campaign from
1966 to 1977. He was also instrumental in initiating the WHO's
global program of immunization which now vaccinates
approximately 80 percent of the world's children against six
major diseases. Dr. Henderson's government service includes time
at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the
Department of Health the Human Services in the early 1990's. In
1986, he was awarded the National Medal of Science. Dr.
Henderson is currently the director of the recently established
Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies.
Irving Kristol
Irving Kristol is an author, editor and professor who is one of
the leading intellectuals of his time. Mr. Kristol's writings
helped lay the intellectual groundwork for the renaissance of
conservative ideas in the last half of the 20th Century. His
approach adapted traditional conservative thought with
contemporary societal issues and became the framework for
compassionate conservatism. Mr. Kristol was the Henry R. Luce
Professor of Urban Values at New York University and the John M.
Olin Professor of Social Thought at the New York University
Graduate School of Business Administration.
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela led the fight to end apartheid in South Africa
over the course of his 57-year public life. Mr. Mandela was
imprisoned by the South African government in 1962 and was
released on February 11, 1990. After his release, Mr. Mandela
was elected President of the African National Congress in 1991
and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He was inaugurated as
the first democratically elected State President of South Africa
on May 10, 1994 and served until he retired from public life in
1999.
Gordon Moore
Gordon Moore is the co-founder of the Intel Corporation and
directed the company's growth as the most successful developer
of the microchip. Dr. Moore received the National Medal of
Technology in 1990. After retiring from Intel in 1995, Dr. Moore
and his wife Betty became increasingly involved in philanthropic
activities. In November 2000, they established the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation with a multibillion-dollar contribution.
The Foundation funds projects in four major program areas:
higher education; scientific research; the environment; and San
Francisco Bay Area projects.
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan became First Lady of the United States in 1980 when
her husband Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th President. As
First Lady, Mrs. Reagan traveled extensively as a spokeswoman
for the "Just Say No" Foundation and its philosophy. After
leaving the White House, she has continued her work against drug
and alcohol abuse through the Nancy Reagan Foundation. She has
also worked to promote the Foster Grandparent program, and
co-authored the book To Love a Child to raise funds for the
program.
Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers hosted Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for over three
decades, making the show the longest running program in the
history of public broadcasting. All of his work has been
emblematic of the same philosophy and goal: to encourage the
healthy emotional growth of children and their families. Mr.
Rogers is an ordained Presbyterian minister and the recipient of
numerous awards over his career including induction into the
Television Hall of Fame in 1999.
A.M. Rosenthal
A.M. Rosenthal has been a reporter, correspondent, editor and
columnist for the New York Times since the early 1940's. His
work has sought to highlight the suffering of oppressed peoples,
especially religious minorities. His newspaper career has taken
him around the world. In 1960, Rosenthal was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Poland. He returned to New
York to become an editor in 1963, and he went on to oversee
daily news operations of the Times for close to 16 years and
Sunday operations for close to 10 years. Other
Recipients | Presidential Civilian
Medals Information | 
