Presidential Medal of Freedom Awarded to Two From Princeton (news item)

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<p>President</a> Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients | The White House</p>

<p>“WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama named thirteen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. The awards will be presented at the White House in late spring.</p>

<p>President Obama said, “These extraordinary honorees come from different backgrounds and different walks of life, but each of them has made a lasting contribution to the life of our Nation. They’ve challenged us, they’ve inspired us, and they’ve made the world a better place. I look forward to recognizing them with this award.”</p>

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<p>Among this year’s thirteen honorees are two with Princeton connections—Professor Emeritus and novelist Toni Morrison and Princeton graduate John Doar (Class of ’44) a lawyer and leader in the civil rights movement.</p>

<p>Presidential</a> Medal of Freedom Awarded to Morrison and Doar</p>

<p>“Toni Morrison, the renowned author and the Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities Emeritus at Princeton University, was named by President Barack Obama a 2012 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. </p>

<p>The 13 recipients are individuals who have made "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," according to the White House. The awards, which were inaugurated in 1945, will be presented at a White House ceremony later this spring. </p>

<p>In 1993, Morrison became the first African American woman — and the first woman since 1938 — to win the Nobel Prize in literature. . . .</p>

<p>Among the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom is John Doar, a 1944 Princeton alumnus, who was a public servant and leader of federal efforts to protect and enforce civil rights during the 1960s. Doar today practices law at Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack in New York.”</p>