Awards Dinner Will Honor Barbara Walters and Robert Wood Johnson IV in New York City

Awards Dinner Will Honor Barbara Walters and Robert Wood Johnson IV in New York City

WASHINGTON—The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution will present the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service to Barbara Walters and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship to Robert Wood Johnson IV at a dinner to be held on May 4, 2009, at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Lawrence Bathgate II, senior partner, Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf, P.C., and Wilson Advisory Council member, will serve as the dinner chairman for this prestigious event.

“These two leaders personify the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Their contributions have been numerous and significant, and it gives me great pleasure that the Board of Trustees has chosen to recognize such worthy honorees,” said Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Barbara Walters is one of the leading female journalists of our time. Joining a local New York television station shortly after graduating from college, she soon became the first female anchor on the nightly news of a major national news organization, co-anchoring ABCÂ’s Evening News with Harry Reasoner in 1976. She was also the first female to co-anchor the Today show and went on to spend 25 years as co-host and chief correspondent of ABC NewsÂ’s 20/20. Throughout her pioneering career, which has served as an inspiration for women in the field of journalism, Walters has earned a reputation for openness, and her interviews with world leaders and other prominent figures over the last three decades contribute to a public history of the late 20^th century.

A committed philanthropist and businessman, Robert “Woody” Johnson is a model representative of corporate citizenship. A member of the founding family of Johnson & Johnson, he also serves as a trustee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the nation’s largest philanthropic organization devoted exclusively to health and health care. In addition, he has advocated in Washington for increased research spending on cures for diabetes and lupus. More recently, he has built on his role as owner of the Jets National Football League franchise to instill a philosophy that acknowledges the important relationship between the team and its wider community.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by the U.S. Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the living, national memorial to the United StatesÂ’ 28^th president. The Center is one of three American institutions (along with the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center) created by congressional statute to perform a national mission within the Smithsonian Institution and is governed by its own independent Board of Trustees appointed by the U.S. President.

A nonpartisan institution supported by public and private funds, the Center explores national and global issues through free, open, and informed dialogue. The Honorable Joseph B. Gildenhorn is chairman of the Board of Trustees, and previously served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland (1983–1993). Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, served as a member of Congress for 34 years and provided service as vice chairman of the independent 9/11 Commission. He also served as co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker.

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For information please contact:

Event Contact: Olivia Dorieux or Cathy Blaney

Phone: (212) 437-0034

olivia@355Lex.com

Press Contact: Sharon McCarter

Phone: (202) 691-4016

sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org