Awards, Jan 08, 2004

The following awards have been presented for work in advocacy, fund raising, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, and other areas.

Community development. The Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise (Washington) and the Center for Corporate Citizenship of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Washington) have presented the annual Henry Morrison Flagler Builder Award to Patricia Traugott Rouse, widow of James W. Rouse, in recognition of the couple’s contributions in business and community development. Mr. and Mrs. Rouse founded the Enterprise Foundation (Columbia, Md.), which provides loans, grants, and consulting services to nonprofit community-development organizations.

Leadership. The Heinz Family Foundation (Pittsburgh) has announced the recipients of this year’s Heinz Awards, which recognize exceptional leadership and accomplishments in five areas. The winners, who each receive $250,000:

— Arts and humanities: August Wilson, of Pittsburgh, a playwright, poet, and theatrical producer who has written two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays — Fences and The Piano Lesson — and co-founded a community theater designed to raise social consciousness among blacks.

— Environment: Peggy M. Shepard, co-founder of West Harlem Environmental Action (New York), which operates programs in environmental health, community development, and youth empowerment.

— Human condition: Robert N. Butler, chief executive officer of the International Longevity Center (New York), who has fought discrimination against elderly people and was a pioneer in establishing geriatric departments in medical schools.

— Public policy: Julius B. Richmond, emeritus professor of health policy at Harvard U. (Cambridge, Mass.), who served as the first director of Head Start, a national program designed to improve the early development of poor and at-risk children. As U.S. surgeon general and assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Carter administration, Dr. Richmond also promoted healthy lifestyles, educated the public about the health consequences of cigarette smoking, and helped reduce infant mortality.

— Technology, the economy, and employment: Robert S. Langer, a professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Mass.), whose research led to the discovery of controlled release of proteins and other drugs, and who helped develop a method for delivering chemotherapy directly to the site where a tumor has been removed.

In addition, the foundation has presented its Chairman’s Medal to U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, and Sam Nunn, co-chairman and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (Washington) and a former U.S. senator. They were recognized for accelerating the dismantlement of nuclear weapons.

Social service. The Points of Light Foundation and former president George H.W. Bush have conferred posthumous honors on William D. Boyce, founder of Boy Scouts of America (Irving, Tex.), and on Ballington and Maud Booth, founders of Volunteers of America (Alexandria, Va.). Bronze medals commemorating these honorees will be displayed in the Extra Mile-Points of Light Foundation Volunteer Pathway, a monument to be built in Washington.

Volunteer management. The Association for Volunteer Administration (Richmond, Va.) has recognized several individuals for outstanding leadership in volunteer-resources management. Jane Hilfer, director of community relations at the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (Austin), was named 2003 Volunteer Administrator of the Year. The association also presented Distinguished Service Awards to Mary Merrill, president of Merrill Associates (Columbus, Ohio); the City of Plano Volunteer Resources Program (Tex.); and JPS Health Network (Fort Worth).