Hyde, economist Becker among Freedom medalists

By Mark Silva | Washington Bureau

October 30, 2007

Article tools

E-mail

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Facebook
- Fark
- Google
- Newsvine
- Reddit
- Yahoo

WASHINGTON - Retired Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois and Nobel-winning University of Chicago economist Gary Becker are among the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. They will be honored at a White House ceremony on Nov. 5, President Bush announced Monday.

The careers of the award-winners span politics, social activism, academics and literature and include Harper Lee, whose one novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," is an American classic, as well as Benjamin Hooks, a former executive director of the NAACP.

In naming Hyde, a lion of the Republican Party who served in Congress for 32 years and retired at the end of his term in 2006, the president is honoring a political leader widely known for his fight against abortion, including limits on federal funding. That had placed Hyde foursquare with the platform of his party.

Hyde served on the House Judiciary Committee, heading it from 1995 to 2001, and managed President Bill Clinton's impeachment in the House. Bush said he is honoring Hyde as "a powerful defender of life and a leading advocate for a strong national defense and for freedom around the world.'"

In naming Becker, a 1992 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the president said the professor has "broadened the spectrum of economics and social sciences through his analysis of the interaction between economics ... education, demography and family organization." Becker's work, Bush said, "has helped improve the standard of living for people around the world."

Becker, a Princeton graduate with master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Chicago, has taught at the U. of C. since 1970 as an economics professor and also became a sociology professor in 1983. He started teaching at the Graduate School of Business in 2001. His research has covered price theory, human capital and the family, and the application of economic analysis, as well as areas outside the traditional discipline. His books include "The Economics of Discrimination," "A Treatise on the Family" and "The Economics of Life."

"It's a very different type of honor than the Nobel Prize," Becker said. "This might be as a recognition for my work in a more general way. I'm very pleased that I've got it. Very few economists have. ... It's really an elite group to be in."

The president will also bestow the medal to:

*Oscar Elias Biscet, a political prisoner in Cuba who Bush said is being honored as "a champion in the fight against tyranny and oppression. Despite being persecuted and imprisoned for his beliefs, he continues to advocate for a free Cuba in which the rights of all people are respected."

*Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, honored for "greatly expanding the understanding of the human DNA."

*Brian Lamb, a co-founder and chief executive of C-SPAN, honored for "elevating the public debate and making the government more accessible."

*Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia and the first woman elected president of an African nation, honored for working to "expand freedom and improve the lives of people in Liberia and across Africa."

President Harry Truman initiated the award in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II, and President John Kennedy reinstituted it in 1963 to honor distinguished service. Bush has awarded past medals to people including actor Andy Griffith, radio personality Paul Harvey, blues guitarist B.B. King, historian David McCullough, former CIA chief George Tenet and former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer.

----------

mdsilva@tribune.com