Lieberman receives President's Medal

During a visit to the Learning Corridor on September 25, U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman was presented with a Trinity College President's Medal for Excellence by President Dobelle. Dobelle called the award "a token of Trinity College's esteem and its appreciation for his advocacy and support for things that are so fundamentally in keeping with the College's mission, including outreach to the community right here in Hartford's South End."

The President's Medal for Excellence is awarded to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to their community, public life, or issues of global concern and have distinguished themselves beyond the call of normal pursuits. It is intended to recognize individuals for exemplifying characteristics such as leadership, courage, integrity, loyalty, and commitment to public service that members of the Trinity community--students, alumni, faculty, and staff--strive to achieve.

Lieberman, along with Congressman John Larson and Senator Christopher Dodd, were instrumental in securing federal funding for the $110.8-million Learning Corridor project. Lieberman and Larson were visiting the Learning Corridor's Montessori Magnet School to announce a three-year, $1.1-million federal grant that would allow schools in seven Connecticut towns to hire community police officers. Lieberman called the Learning Corridor a "national model of what the public sector and the private sector can do together to transform a neighborhood and to improve the lives of children."

In addition to awarding the medal, Dobelle announced that Lieberman would be presented with an honorary degree at Commencent in May of 2001.

The highest honor that the president of Trinity can bestow on individuals who are not alumni of the College, the President's Medal for Excellence had been awarded only twice before. Previous recipients were Raul Hilberg, who is universally regarded as one of the world's greatest Holocaust scholars, and Nguyen Van Dao, president of Vietnam National University.

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