Former Princeton president to receive National Humanities Medal

Former Princeton President William G. Bowen will receive the National Humanities Medal from President Obama on Wednesday at the White House, the university announced Tuesday.

Bowen, who served as Princeton's president from 1972 to 1988, is among 12 individuals to be honored.

"Bill Bowen is one of the great figures in American higher education," Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in a prepared statement. "His legendary leadership of this University simultaneously elevated Princeton's stature and strengthened its core values. After stepping down from the presidency, he resumed his scholarly study of higher education, producing research of unsurpassed quality."

Bowen earned a doctorate in economics from Princeton in 1958 and then became a faculty member there. He was named provost in 1967 and in 1972, at age 38, he took the helm as president.

The medal citation, according to the university, honors Bowen "for his contributions to the study of economics and his probing research on higher education in America. While his widely discussed publications have scrutinized the effects of policy, Dr. Bowen has used his leadership to put theories into practice and strive for new heights of academic excellence."

The medal is sponsored by the National Endowment of the Humanities.