The Presidential Scholars Foundation has named three outstanding members of our community as honorees who will be recognized at the Second Annual Presidential Scholars Honors dinner at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on the evening of June 25, 2018.

The awards dinner will be followed by the Salute to the 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars performance by the 2018 Arts Scholars in partnership with National YoungArts Foundation.

The 2018 Honorees

We are thrilled to announce the 2018 Presidential Scholars Honors Award Recipients. The Roosevelt “Rosey” Thompson awardees are; Martha Bergmark (1966, MS) an advocate for civil rights and justice for all; and Eugene Robinson (1970, SC) the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post. Jane Case Williams, the Executive Director of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program during the 1970s who was influential in the expansion of the National Recognition Program and also the addition of Arts Scholars, will receive the Dr. Felice Kaufmann Award.

2018 Winners
Martha Bergmark (1966, MS)
Martha Bergmark (1966, MS)

Over four decades, Martha Bergmark has been a leader in the movement to fulfill America’s promise of justice for all. Martha is the founding executive director of Voices for Civil Justice, a national communications hub for civil legal aid that launched in 2013. Martha is a passionate spokesperson for delivering on the promise of equal justice under law...

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Eugene Robinson (1970, SC)
Eugene Robinson (1970, SC)

Eugene Robinson (1970, SC) is a politics and culture columnist for The Washington Post. In 2009, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for “his eloquent columns on the 2008 presidential campaign that focus on the election of the first African-American president, showcasing graceful writing and grasp of the larger historic picture.”

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Jane Case Williams
Jane Case Williams

Jane Case Williams was the Executive Director of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program from 1975-1979. During this time, she was influential in the expansion of the National Recognition Program and also adding Arts Scholars to the program. 

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Special Guests

 
Event Performers
Event Emcee: Leonard Earl Howze (1995, CA)
Event Emcee: Leonard Earl Howze (1995, CA)

Leonard Earl Howze is a 1995 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He's an alumnus of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, and received his BFA in Acting/Theater Arts from the State University of New York, Theater/Acting Conservatory at Purchase College. 

In April 2018 he graced the stage in the Lone Tree Arts Center's stunning production of August Wilson's award winning play, Fences. Although Theater is Leonard's foundation, upon graduating, his commercial, film & television career took off. He's been seen in numerous national commercials, and made his feature film debut in the box office hit 'Barbershop'.

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Featured Performer: Ben Pila (2002, FL)
Featured Performer: Ben Pila (2002, FL)

Benjamin Pila is the only classical guitarist ever named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Pila has performed extensively throughout the United States at venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center in New York City, the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Herbst Theater in San Francisco.

Pila is a semi-regular performer at the 9/11 Memorial Museum where he’s performed for Pope Francis, three U.S. presidents, and has played on programs with James Taylor, Paul Simon, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. Pila’s debut CD, Commemoration, contains music he performed at the museum and is a tribute to the survivors and victims of 9/11.

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The Awards

The Roosevelt “Rosey” Thompson award was created to honor the memory of Rosey Thompson, a 1980 Presidential Scholar. Each year we will honor Rosey’s commitment to excellence in public service by choosing exceptional Presidential Scholars alumni who embody the outstanding qualities of civil service that Rosey exemplified daily.

The Dr. Felice Kaufmann Award was created to recognize individuals outside the ranks of Presidential Scholar alumni in celebration of their efforts to support and understand Presidential Scholars or to support the U. S. Presidential Scholars Program, Foundation, or Alumni Association. Dr. Felice Kaufmann received the inaugural award in 2017.

Information on Event Sponsorships

Silver Medallion Sponsor

 
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Table Sponsors

Alumni Board and Anniversaries Committee
Brian Abrams
Gobi Partners
John Knox
Cathy Randall
Thomas G. Tsao
University of Georgia

Inaugural Presidential Scholars Dinner and Salute - June 19, 2017

The inaugural event honored three outstanding former Presidential Scholars: Chief Judge Merrick Garland (1970, IL), former governor of Indiana and President of Purdue University Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. (1967, IN), and Poet Laureate Rita Dove (1970, OH). Presidential Scholars researcher Dr. Felice Kaufmann received the inaugural Dr. Felice Kaufmann Award for a non-Scholar. 

Photos from the 2017 event can be seen here.