PCAH Co-Hosts National Medals Ceremony

In a ceremony at the White House, 20 National Medals for the Arts and the Humanities were presented by President and Mrs. George Bush in early November to legendary artists, renowned scholars and institutions. The awards honor extraordinary contributions to the arts and humanities and are the highest recognition the U. S. bestows on its artists and scholars.

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) and its Chairman Adair Margo co-hosted the arts and humanities medals at the White House and provided private financial support for these Presidential honors. In addition to this year’s ceremony, President's Committee member Elizabeth Dubin and her husband Richard held a dinner honoring the humanities medalists where NEH Chairman Bruce Cole paid tribute to their extraordinary contributions to the cultural life of the nation.

The National Humanities Medal, first awarded in 1989 as the Charles Frankel Prize, honors individuals and organizations whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens' engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand America's access to important humanities resources. Recipients of the National Humanities Medal included Nobel economist James Buchanan, a professor at George Mason University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; historian Nickolas Davatzes, the founder of the History Channel; poet and classics translator Robert Fagles; classicist Mary Lefkowitz; religion historian Mark Noll; and historian Kevin Starr, the state librarian emeritus of California, who has written more than a million words about the state. The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, a public policy center at Stanford University received the humanities organization award.

The National Medal of Arts, established by Congress in 1984, is awarded by the President to those who have made extraordinary contributions to the creation, growth, and support of the arts in the United States. This year’s recipient’s include William Bolcom, classical composer, Ann Arbor, MI; Cyd Charisse, dancer, Los Angeles, CA
Roy R. DeCarava, photographer, Brooklyn, NY; Wilhelmina Holladay, arts patron, Washington, DC; Interlochen Center for the Arts, school of fine arts, Interlochen, MI; Erich Kunzel, conductor, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Cincinnati, OH; Preservation Hall Jazz Band, jazz ensemble, New Orleans, LA; Gregory Rabassa, literary translator, Brooklyn, NY; Viktor Schreckengost, industrial designer/sculptor, Cleveland, OH; and
Dr. Ralph Stanley, bluegrass musician, Coeburn, VA.

Additional information on the National Medal of the Arts can be found here and the National Humanities Medal here.