National Humanities Medal 2006

Those awarded the 2006 National Humanities Medal met with President and Mrs. Bush in the Oval Office before the awards ceremony. Director John Raisian (to Mrs. Bush's right) accepted the medal on behalf of the Hoover Institution.

On November 9, 2006, President George W. Bush presented the Hoover Institution with the National Humanities Medal, making Hoover the first think tank to receive that prestigious award.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awards the medal to individuals or organizations whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.

In making the award, NEH cited Hoover for “its responsible stewardship and its promotion of liberty and peace. For more than eight decades, it has supported many of our leading thinkers and enriched the public discourse on the most vital and consequential issues facing our nation.” NEH further recognized Hoover as one of the “most distinguished academic centers in the United States dedicated to public policy research.”

National Humanities Medal

As an award to the fellows and staff of the Institution, the medal is a tribute to an organization that supports the ideals of political and economic freedom, enriches and enlightens current and future generations, and spreads the message of liberty and peace around the world.

The community of scholars of the Hoover Institution joins a select group of only six organizations to have received this award. Hoover fellows Victor Davis Hanson, Thomas Sowell, and Shelby Steele also received the medal.