DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

2007: The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State; chairwoman, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs


INTERNATIONAL HONOREES

2009: W. Cole Durham, Jr., Susan Young Gates University Professor of Law and Director of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School

2008: Jakob Finci, President, Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina; President, La Benevolencija (Jewish cultural, educational and humanitarian society of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

2007: Abdelfattah Amor, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; former President, UNESCO human-rights jury

2006: President Václav Havel, former President Czechoslovakia, and subsequently Czech Republic; active in human rights initiatives Charter 77, the Velvet Revolution and Shared Concern Initiative

2005: Father Elias Chacour, Founder and President, Israel’s Mar Elias Educational Institutions; three- time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize

2004: Prof. Alberto de la Hera, Director General, Department of Religious Affairs for the Spanish Ministry of Justice

2003: M. Farooq Kathwari, Chairman and CEO, Ethan Allen, Inc.; Founder, Kashmir Study Group

2002: John Wallach and Seeds of Peace, award-winning journalist and Founder, Seeds of Peace, an international conflict-resolution program for youth

2001: No recipient

2000: Mostar 2004 Project (including The Reves Center for International Studies at The College of William & Mary, War Child U.S.A. and The World Bank), organizations working to rehabilitate the cultural and physical vitality of the City of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the Balkans War

1999: His Excellency Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Great Britain for his leadership role in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations 


NATIONAL HONOREES

2009: Douglas Laycock, Yale Kamisar Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School

2008: John Witte, Jr., Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion, Emory University

2007: Kevin “Seamus” Hasson, Founder and Chairman, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

2006: The Honorable Chet Edwards, member U.S. House of Representatives; winner of the Walter Cronkite Faith & Freedom Award

2005: The Honorable Robert A. Seiple, first U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom; Founder, Institute for Global Engagement

2004: Garry Wills, Ph.D., Pulitzer Prize-winning author; adjunct professor of history at Northwestern University

2003: Norman Lear, Emmy award-winning writer and television producer; Founder, People for the American Way

2002: Martin E. Marty, writer, theologian and distinguished authority on American religious tradition; Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago; Founder, Martin Marty Center

2001: The Honorable Frank R. Wolf, member U.S. House of Representatives; author, International Religious Freedom Act

2000: Bill & Judith Moyers, award-winning television documentary producers, Public Affairs Television

1999: The Honorable George J. Mitchell, former U.S. Senator; Chairman, Northern Ireland peace negotiations

1998: Steven C. Rockefeller, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Middlebury College; Chair, Earth Charter Drafting Committee

1997: Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson Scholar and Professor Emeritus, University of Virginia

1996: The Honorable Richard C. Holbrooke, Chief Negotiator, Dayton Peace Accords; U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 


VIRGINIA HONOREES

2009: Samuel Ericsson, President and CEO of Advocates International

2008: Dr. Charles C. Haynes, Senior Scholar, Freedom Forum First Amendment Center

2007: Dr. Azizah Y. al-Hibri, Founder and President, KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights; professor of law, University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law

2006: Dr. Robert S. Alley, Professor Emeritus of Humanities, University of Richmond; author of numerous books on church/state issues

2005: William Lee Miller, scholar in Ethics and Institutions, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia; author, “The First Liberty: America’s Foundation in Religious Freedom”

2004: Rev. Dr. Robert Bluford, Jr., Founder, Historic Polegreen Church Foundation

2003: Rev. J. Fletcher Lowe, Jr., Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy and Rev. James A. Payne, Founding Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

2002: Rev. Benjamin P. Campbell, Pastoral Director, Richmond Hill

2001: Jay M. Ipson, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Virginia Holocaust Museum

2000: Very Rev. C. N. Dombalis, Dean Emeritus, Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Richmond, Virginia

1999: Tommy P. Baer, former president, B’nai B’rith International

1998: Congregations of Saint James Episcopal Church and Temple Beth Ahabah, Richmond, Virginia

1997: Most Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia

1996: Mary Tyler McClenahan and Neilson J. November, civic leaders, Richmond, Virginia

1995: James E. Ukrop and Robert S. Ukrop, civic and business leaders, Richmond, Virginia