Wilson Center Director Lee H. Hamilton Awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award from American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies Program

WASHINGTON, DC - American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS) presented Wilson Center Director and former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton with the Center's Distinguished Public Service Award at its recent 25th anniversary celebration.

Hamilton has been involved with CCPS, AU and the School of Public Affairs for many years as a lecturer, author (having contributed three essays for books on Congress and the Presidency), and last spring he received an honorary degree from AU at commencement.

"Lee Hamilton is a statesman who should be praised for his great comity, civility and bi-partisanship during his many years of public service," proclaimed CCPS Director James A. Thurber. "There has never been a question that his views were motivated by anything but principle and commitment to the national interests, and we are honored to acknowledge Lee for his years of public service."

Prior to becoming the Director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, Hamilton served for 34 years as a U.S. Congressman from Indiana. During his tenure, he served as chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and chaired the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East from the early 1970s until 1993.

Hamilton remains an important and active voice on matters of international relations and foreign affairs. He served as a Commissioner on the influential United States Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (better known as the Hart-Rudman Commission), and was Co-Chair with former Senator Howard Baker of the Baker-Hamilton Commission to Investigate Certain Security Issues at Los Alamos. He is currently a member of the advisory council for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and in December, 2002, he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Hamilton is a graduate of DePauw University and Indiana University law school.

American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies provides an integrated teaching, research, and study program focusing on Congress, the presidency, and the interactions of these two basic American institutions. Established in 1979, the Center provides a scholarly organization uniquely able to draw on its Washington, DC location in the very heart of the events shaping Congress and the presidency.

For more information, contact Sharon Mc Carter, Director of Outreach & Communications at 202/691-4231 or mccarters@wwic.si.edu, or Maralee Csellar, AU's Media Relations Office at 202-885-5952.