Connecticut College alumna to be awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom in White House ceremony

President Barack Obama will award Patricia McGowan Wald, a Connecticut native and 1948 Connecticut College graduate, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a White House ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 20. The First Lady is also expected to attend the event.

Wald is one of 16 who will be awarded the medal, considered the nation’s highest civilian honor. The other 2013 honorees include former President Bill Clinton, country music legend Loretta Lynn, broadcast giant Oprah Winfrey, baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, feminist publisher Gloria Steinem, former college basketball coach Dean Smith and former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana. Former Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and astronaut Sally Ride will be honored posthumously.

In a statement, the White House referred to Wald as “one of the most respected appellate judges of her generation.” After graduating as one of only 11 women in her Yale University Law School class, she became the first woman appointed to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and served as Chief Judge from 1986-1991. She later served on the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Ms. Wald currently serves on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

Also in the White House statement President Obama said, “The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours. This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world.”

A native of Torrington, Conn., Wald graduated from Connecticut College having earned the College’s highest academic honor for students, recognition as a Winthrop Scholar. She attended Yale Law School after graduation and became the first woman associate hired by the storied law firm Arnold, Fortas & Porter in Washington, D.C. In 1972 she received the College Medal, Connecticut College’s highest honor.

She later served as assistant attorney general for legislative affairs under President Jimmy Carter, who appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals where she served until 1999, including a stint as chief judge from 1986 to 1991.

After retiring from the U.S. courts, Wald has held several high-profile positions. She served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for two years, was appointed to the Iraq Intelligence Commission in 2004 to help investigate U.S. intelligence surrounding the beginning of the Iraq War and, most recently, was named to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board by President Obama in 2012.

In 2008, Legal Times honored her as a “Visionary” for breaking through barriers during her distinguished law career. In 2011, she was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame.

Media Note:

The White House Press Office has announced the event will be open press. Members of the media who wish to cover this event must send NAME, MEDIA OUTLET, PHONE AND EMAIL for each person planning to cover the event tomedia_affairs@who.eop.gov by Tuesday, Nov. 19, at noon (ET). 

About Connecticut College

Connecticut College is a private, highly selective liberal arts college with 1,850 students and more than 40 majors in the arts, sciences, social sciences and humanities, as well as the option for students to self-design majors. The College offers a high level of intellectual challenge, a campus culture that supports students to tailor their educational experience to their own interests and goals, and a four-year career development program that teaches students how to translate a liberal arts degree into a first job or graduate school admission. Connecticut College is situated in the small New England seaport of New London. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.