Several academics are among the 16 "agents of change" President Obama has named as recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. The president will present the awards, considered the highest civilian honor, on August 12. The academics to be honored are as follows:
Pedro José Greer Jr., assistant dean of academic affairs at Florida International University's school of medicine, was recognized for his efforts to provide medical care to poor children and adults in Miami.
The British physicist Stephen Hawking, a professor at the University of Cambridge, was recognized for his work in science and mathematics. Mr. Hawking "has unlocked new pathways of discovery and inspired everyday citizens," the White House said in a news release.
Janet Davison Rowley, a professor of medicine, molecular genetics, and cell biology at the University of Chicago, was recognized for her work in cancer research. She was the first scientist to identify a chromosomal translocation as the cause of leukemia and other cancers. Earlier this month, Dr. Rowley was honored with the $500,000 Gruber Prize in genetics, and in 1999, President Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor.
Other recipients of the award include Sandra Day O'Connor, the former U.S. Supreme Court justice who now serves as chancellor of the College of William and Mary, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate for more than four decades and had a hand in the creation of nearly every major federal student-aid program.
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