For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 13, 2003

National Humanities Medal Recipients for 2003

President George W. Bush today announced the National Humanities Medal Recipients for the year 2003. The awards will be presented by the President in an Oval Office Ceremony tomorrow. The President will be joined by First Lady Laura Bush, Mrs. Lynne Cheney, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Award Recipients:

Dr. Robert Ballard, Marine scientist who discovered the Titanic (Old Lyme, Connecticut)

Joan Ganz Cooney, Creator of Sesame Street (New York, New York)

Midge Decter, Author, Essayist, Social Critic (New York, New York)

Joseph Epstein, Professor, Essayist (Evanston, Illinois)

Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Humanities and Women's Studies Professor (Atlanta, Georgia)

Jean Fritz, Author (Dobbs Ferry, New York)

Hal Holbrook, Actor (Beverly Hills, California)

Edith Kurzweil, Author, Professor (New York, New York)

Frank Snowden, Author, Professor (Washington, DC)

John Updike, Novelist (Beverly Farms, Massachusetts)

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