Congrats to All

Among the 16 new US Medal of Freedom awardees are three academics, points out the Chronicle of Higher Education. They are: the University of Chicago's Janet Rowley, who discovered the role chromosomal translocations play in leukemia and other cancers; Florida International University's Pedro Greer, Jr., for his work to provide medical care to Miami's poor; and the University of Cambridge's Stephen Hawking for his contributions to science and mathematics. Other notable recipients include Jack Kemp, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Billie Jean King, Harvey Milk, Sandra Day O' Connor, Sydney Poitier, and Desmond Tutu.