Indiana bestows its highest honor on Father Hesburgh
March 14, 2006
Indiana's governor bestowed the state’s highest honor, the Sachem Award, on Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, in the State Capitol Rotunda, March 7.
Gov. Mitch Daniels presented Father Hesburgh with a bronze sculpture, designed by a university student, consisting of a scroll and pipe tomahawk representing signs of peace between Native Americans and the country.
The governor revived the Sachem Award, established more than 30 years ago by former governor Edgar Whitcomb, as the state's top honor and named the first two recipients in more than 30 years: the most successful college basketball coach in history, UCLA’s John Wooden, an Indiana native, for 2005, and Father Hesburgh for 2006. The Sachem Award recognizes a lifetime of excellence and virtue that has brought credit and honor to Indiana. Sachem comes from the Algonquin term applied to village leaders, implying wisdom, judgment and grace.
This is the latest in a long list of honors for Father Hesburgh, 88, that includes the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, bestowed on him by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and the Congressional Gold Medal, which President Clinton presented him on July 13, 2000. He also has been awarded 150 honorary degrees, more than anyone else.
Also, during the longest tenure of a Notre Dame president (1952-1987), Father Hesburgh built Notre Dame into the premier Catholic university in America; served four popes, three as permanent Vatican City representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna from 1956 to 1970; served on 16 presidential commissions and crafted the legislation, approved by Congress, that granted civil and equal rights for all citizens and the right to vote to 18 year olds.
His life, service and accomplishments are examined in Family Theater Productions' documentary, "God, Country, Notre Dame: The Story of Father Ted Hesburgh, CSC." The Telly Award-winning program was broadcast nationally on The Hallmark Channel, Nov. 6, 2005. It is expected to be shown next by public television stations (PBS-affiliates) nationwide.
Despite his many accomplishments, Fr. Hesburgh maintains that his greatest is being a priest.