Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service - List of Honorees

List of Honorees

Year Honoree Discipline Claim to Fame
1979 Lord Laurence Olivier
United Kingdom
Dramatic Arts British actor and founding director of the British National Theatre.
Joseph Papp
United States
Dramatic Arts Influential American theatrical director and producer.
Jay W. Forrester
United States
Science & Invention Prominent scientist who made outstanding contributions to digital computer technology.
Charles J. Plank
India
Science & Invention Chemist and inventor credited with inventing the first commercially applicable apparatus for the breaking of hydrocarbons.
Edward J. Rosinski
United States
Science & Invention Chemical engineer and inventor credited with making significant breakthroughs in the technology of hydrocarbon conversions.
Kingsley Davis
United States
Sociology American sociologist and demographer who coined the terms population explosion and zero population growth.
Robert Merton
United States
Sociology Influential sociologist recognized for coining terms such as, self-fulfilling prophecy and role models.
1980 Peter Brook
United Kingdom
Dramatic Arts
Agnes de Mille
United States
Dramatic Arts Famed American dancer and choreographer.
Gabriel García Márquez
Colombia
Literature Nobel Prize-winning author and a pioneer of the Latin American Boom.
Robert Penn Warren
United States
Literature American poet, novelist, and literary critic; cofounder of New Criticism.
Clair McCollough
United States
Mass Communications Radio and television executive, as well as longtime officer of the National Association of Broadcasters
Lowell Thomas
United States
Mass Communications American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known for the creation of Lawrence of Arabia.
James Hillier
Canada
Science & Invention Physicist and inventor who assisted in the development of an early, commercially successful electron microscope for RCA.
Lewis H. Sarett
United States
Science & Invention
James Coleman
United States
Sociology
Otis Duncan
United States
Sociology One of the most influential sociologists in history, instrumental in transforming mainstream American sociology.
1981 Harold Pinter
United Kingdom
Dramatic Arts
Tennessee Williams
United States
Dramatic Arts Major American playwright of the twentieth century.
Nadine Gordimer
South Africa
Literature
Milan Kundera
Czech Republic
Literature
Walter Cronkite
United States
Mass Communications
Julian Goodman
United States
Mass Communications
Howard S. Becker
United States
Sociology
Peter Blau
Austria
Sociology
1982 Harold Prince
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning producer and director; co-artistic director of the New Phoenix Repertory Company.
Wright Morris
United States
Literature American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and photographer.
Vincent Wasileski
United States
Mass Communications President of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
Bell Laboratories
United States
Science & Invention Credited with the discovery of the Fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE).
Charles Tilly
United States
Sociology
1983 Hume Cronyn
Canada (d. United States)
Dramatic Arts
Jessica Tandy
United Kingdom
Dramatic Arts
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick
United States
Government
Christopher Isherwood
United Kingdom
Literature
César Milstein
Argentina
Science & Invention
Kenneth Lane Thompson
United States
Science & Invention
William Sewell
United States
Sociology
1984 Athol Fugard
South Africa
Dramatic Arts
Stephen Sondheim
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning stage musical and film composer & lyricist.
Eudora Welty
United States
Literature
Robert Phelan Langlands
Canada
Science & Invention
Joseph Rubinfeld
United States
Invention Instrumental in licensing the original anticancer line of products for Bristol-Meyers, as well as development of amoxicillin.
Matilda White Riley
United States
Sociology Renowned sociologist and Daniel B. Fayerweather Professor of Political Economy and Sociology Emerita.
1985 Zelda Fichandler
United States
Dramatic Arts Famed cofounder and producing director of the Arena Stage in Washington.
Max Frisch
Switzerland
Literature
Candy Lightner
United States
Public Service The organizer and founding president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Alain Aspect
France
Science & Invention
Delft Hydraulics Laboratory
Netherlands
Science & Invention
Peter H. Rossi
United States
Sociology Prominent sociologist, best known for documenting homelessness in the 1980s.
1986 Samuel Beckett
Ireland
Dramatic Arts
John Ashbery
United States
Literature Award-winning American poet.
Norman Cousins
United States
Mass Communications
Leon H. Sullivan
United States
Public Service
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
United States
Science & Invention NASA research center which specializes in building and operating unmanned spacecraft.
Kenneth H. Olsen
United States
Science & Invention American engineer who co-founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1957 with a colleague.
John A. Clausen
United States
Sociology
1987-88 Lloyd Richards
United States (b. Canada)
Dramatic Arts
Andrei Voznesensky
Russia
Literature
Gordon Parks
United States
Mass Communications Famed American photographer, pianist, film director, and novelist.
N.T. Pete Shields
United States
Public Service Cofounder of Handgun Control, a Washington, D.C.-based citizens' gun control lobbying organization
John B. MacChesney
United States
Science & Invention Best known for key inventions in the commercial manufacture of optical fiber.
Robin M. Williams, Jr.
United States
Sociology
1989 Jennifer Tipton
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning American lighting designer.
George P. Shultz
United States
Government Former Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and head of the Office of Management and Budget.
Toni Morrison
United States
Literature Nobel Prize-winning author, editor, and professor.
David Brinkley
United States
Mass Communications Emmy nominated television newscaster and host of This Week with David Brinkley from 1982-1997.
Leroy E. Hood
United States
Science & Invention American biologist who helped to decode the human genome.
Alice S. Rossi
United States
Sociology Cofounder of the National Organization of Women; 74th president of the American Sociological Association.
1990 Jerome Robbins
United States
Dramatic Arts Academy Award-winning film director and choreographer.
Aharon Appelfeld
Israel (b. Romania)
Literature One of Israel's foremost living Hebrew-language authors.
David Broder
United States
Mass Communications Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, talk show pundit, and university professor.
Jaime Escalante
Bolivia
Public Service
J.C.R. Licklider
United States
Science & Invention Renowned for his work on the human-computer dialogue, time sharing, virtual memory, and resource sharing.
Mirra Komarovsky
Russia
Sociology
1991 James Earl Jones
United States
Dramatic Arts
Paul A. Volcker
United States
Government Former chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Adrienne Rich
United States
Literature
Sebastião Salgado
Brazil
Mass Communications Respected photojournalist and Special Representative for UNICEF.
Roger N. Beachy
United States
Science & Invention American biologist and founder of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
Nathan Keyfitz
Canada
Sociology Responsible for important work regarding formal demography and population projections.
1992 Arthur Miller
United States
Dramatic Arts
Warren E. Burger
United States
Government
James A. Michener
United States
Literature
Ted Turner
United States
Mass Communications American media mogul and philanthropist.
Susan Solomon
United States
Science & Invention Demonstrated the first conclusive link between manmade CFCs and the ozone holes above Antarctica.
1993 Julie Harris
United States
Dramatic Arts Three-time Emmy Award-winning and five-time Tony Award-winning actress of stage, screen, and television.
John Updike
United States
Literature Prominent American novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic.
Jim Lehrer
United States
Mass Communications American journalist and anchor for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS.
Jonas Salk
United States
Public Service World-renowned for his development of the polio vaccine.
Charles H. Townes
United States
Science & Invention Accomplishments range from helping ease the strain of everyday life to studying the origin of the universe.
1994 August Wilson
United States
Dramatic Arts Prominent African-American playwright.
Henry A. Kissinger
United States
Government Former Secretary of State and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; founder of Kissinger Associates.
Larry King
United States
Mass Communications Award-winning television and radio broadcaster; host of CNN's Larry King Live.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
France
Public Service Explorer, ecologist, scientist, photographer, and researcher who invented SCUBA and pioneered unaided deep sea diving.
Leland H. Hartwell
United States
Science & Invention Widely recognized pioneer in the field of yeastgenetics and cancer research.
1995 Jane Alexander
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts.
William Styron
United States
Literature Novelist who explored difficult historical and moral questions.
Charles Kuralt
United States
Mass Communications Award-winning American journalist, best known for his long career with CBS.
James & Sarah Brady
United States
Public Service Influential members of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Karen Uhlenbeck
United States
Science & Invention Helped in the understanding of the fundamental properties of matter in the universe.
1996 Jason Robards
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning film and television actor.
Derek Walcott
Saint Lucia
Literature Nobel Prize-winning poet, playwright, writer, visual artist, and theatre & art critic.
Ken Burns
United States
Mass Communications Award-winning documentary filmmaker.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
United States
Public Service Founder of the Special Olympics.
Andrew Wiles
United Kingdom
Science & Invention Solved Fermat's Last Theorem, an equation that had perplexed mathematicians for centuries.
1997 Seamus Heaney
Ireland
Literature Nobel Prize-winning poet, writer, and lecturer.
Michael E. DeBakey
United States
Science & Invention Internationally recognized pioneer in the field of cardiovascular research and surgery.
Jane Goodall
United Kingdom
Public Service World-renowned for her 45-year study of chimpanzee social and family life.
Edward Albee
United States
Dramatic Arts Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary American playwright.
James H. Clark
United States
Mass Communications Prolific entrepreneur and former computer scientist; cofounder of Netscape Communications Corporation.
1998 Christopher Plummer
Canada
Dramatic Arts Actor of stage, screen, and television during his five-decade career.
Saul Bellow
United States (b. Canada)
Literature Nobel Prize-winning novelist.
Bill Moyers
United States
Mass Communications Veteran journalist who worked for both CBS and PBS during his nearly four-decade career.
Betty Ford
United States
Public Service Founder of the Betty Ford Center, a drug and alcohol dependency treatment center located in Rancho Mirage, CA.
Stephanie Kwolek
United States
Science & Invention Was responsible for the creation and discovery of Kevlar during her time at the DuPont Company.
1999 Dr. Louis Miller
United States
Science & Invention Biologist who has made vast contributions to malaria research and other widespread tropical diseases.
John Irving
United States
Literature Bestselling American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.
Robert MacNeil
Canada
Mass Communications Former television news anchor and journalist of The MacNeil/Lehrer Report.
Lawrence Eagleburger
United States
Government Former Secretary of State and diplomat.
Julie Taymor
United States
Dramatic Arts American director of Broadway theatre and film.
2000 Desmond Tutu
South Africa
Public Service Anglican archbishop, international human rights leader, and 1984 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
E. L. Doctorow
United States
Literature Foremost American novelist acclaimed for his lyrical, breakthrough fiction.
Christiane Amanpour
United Kingdom
Mass Communications CNN chief foreign correspondent and influential reporter of global crises.
Robert Ballard
United States
Science & Invention Marine scientist, pioneer of deep ocean exploration, and undersea archaeologist.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Russia
Dramatic Arts Legendary dancer and icon of classical ballet and modern dance.
2001 Morgan Freeman
United States
Dramatic Arts Veteran actor acclaimed for his classic, commanding roles on stage, screen, and television.
J. Craig Venter
United States
Science & Invention Biochemist, entrepreneur, and gene pioneer who succeeded in unlocking the human genetic code.
James Nachtwey
United States
Mass Communications Renowned photojournalist who has chronicled the human anguish of war, genocide, and famine worldwide.
Philip Roth
United States
Literature Pulitzer Prize winner regarded as a literary giant among America's postwar generation of writers.
Dr. William Magee & Kathleen Magee
United States
Public Service Founders of Operation Smile, which aids children with facial deformities around the world.
2002 Julie Andrews
United Kingdom
Dramatic Arts World-renowned performer whose stardom spans movies, theater, television, and concert hall.
Carlos Fuentes
Mexico
Literature Preeminent writer of fiction and political commentary, and a leading cultural force in modern Latin America.
Lonnie Thompson & Ellen Mosley-Thompson
United States
Science & Invention Researchers who have tracked Earth's ancient climate history and global warming.
George Mitchell
United States
Government Former U.S. Senate majority leader and peace mediator for Northern Ireland and the Middle East.
Fred Rogers
United States
Mass Communications Children's television icon; creator and host of the critically acclaimed Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
2003 Sam Donaldson
United States
Mass Communications Veteran television journalist and former chief White House correspondent for ABC News.
Bob Dole
United States
Government Former U.S. Senate majority leader and influential voice of the Republican Party.
Susan Stroman
United States
Dramatic Arts Broadway's most celebrated director-choreographer.
Joyce Carol Oates
United States
Literature One of America's most significant and inventive contemporary writers.
Dean Kamen
United States
Science & Invention Renowned inventor of breakthrough medical and transportation devices.
2004 Christopher Reeve
United States
Public Service Renowned actor and America's leading advocate for people with paralysis and other disabilities.
Meryl Streep
United States
Dramatic Arts Legendary actress and Hollywood icon, considered the greatest film star of her generation.
Stanley Prusiner, M.D.
United States
Science & Invention Pioneering researcher and Nobel Prize-winner who discovered the deadly protein linked to mad-cow disease.
Isabel Allende
Chile
Literature The most widely read and renowned Latin American woman writer in the world.
Andrea Mitchell
United States
Mass Communications Leading broadcast journalist and chief foreign affairs correspondent for NBC News.
2005 Gen. Colin L. Powell
United States
Government Former Secretary of State and respected leader, diplomat, and soldier.
David Mamet
United States
Dramatic Arts Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Hollywood screenwriter, and preeminent dramatist.
Tim Berners-Lee
United Kingdom
Mass Communications Visionary inventor of the World Wide Web and director of the World Wide Web consortium.
Amy Tan
United States
Literature Best-selling novelist whose stories explore family ties, heritage, and the Asian-American experience.
Kip Thorne
United States
Science & Invention Foremost American researcher of black holes and gravitational waves.
2006 John Glenn
United States
Government Former U.S. Senator, astronaut, and heroic pioneer of American space exploration.
HM Queen Noor of Jordan
Jordan
Public Service A leading voice for global peace-building, human rights, and conflict recovery issues.
Mike Nichols
United States
Dramatic Arts Preeminent and award-winning director of stage and screen.
Rita Dove
United States
Literature Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and two-term Poet Laureate of the United States.
Anderson Cooper
United States
Mass Communications Leading broadcast journalist and CNN news anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°.
2007 Sidney Poitier
United States
Dramatic Arts Academy Award-winning actor and cinematic trailblazer.
Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Poland
Government Former two-term president of the Republic of Poland; cofounder of the Social Democratic Party.
Cokie Roberts
United States
Mass Communications Veteran broadcast journalist; best-selling author; political analyst for ABC News; and NPR senior news analyst.
Ian McEwan
United Kingdom
Literature Acclaimed and award-winning British novelist, short-story, and screen writer.
2008 Glenn Close
United States
Dramatic Arts Celebrated actress of stage, screen, and television.
John Howard
Australia
Government Four-term prime minister of Australia.
Ann Curry
United States (b. Guam)
Mass Communications News anchor of NBC's Today; coanchor of Dateline NBC.
James E. Hansen
United States
Science Preeminent climate scientist; director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
2009 Buzz Aldren
United States
Science Astronaut and lunar explorer.
Doris Kearns Goodwin
United States
Mass Communications Historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Don DeLillo
United States
Literature Author, playwright and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Kevin Spacey
United States
Dramatic Arts Academy Award-winning actor and artistic director of London's Old Vic Theatre Company.
2010 Annie Leibovitz
United States
Mass Communications Legendary portrait photographer responsible for some of the most iconic images of the last four decades.
Laura Linney
United States
Dramatic Arts Award-winning actress of stage, film, and theatre. Best known for her roles in Love Actually and HBO miniseries "John Adams."
Greg Mortenson
United States
Public Service Humanitarian, writer. Co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and founder of the charity Pennies for Peace.
Salman Rushdie
India
Literature Booker Prize-winning novelist and essayist. Played a major role in the development of Indian English literature.
2011 Russell Banks
United States
Literature Internationally-acclaimed novelist, poet, and short story writer.
Cherie Blair
United Kingdom
Public Service Noted human rights lawyer and women's rights activist.
Bill Richardson
United States
Government Thirtieth Governor of New Mexico, former U.S. Energy Secretary, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Congressman.
George Will
United States
Mass Communications America's foremost political commentator and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist.

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