UVA, Monticello to honor ‘distinguished,’ ‘extraordinary’ trio with Jefferson Medals

University News

UVA, Monticello to honor ‘distinguished,’ ‘extraordinary’ trio with Jefferson Medals

The chief justice of the United States, the host of PBS’s “Finding Your Roots” and an architect named one of the most influential people in the world will be honored April 14 with Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals as part of the University of Virginia’s Founders Day festivities.

Leaders from UVA and Monticello will jointly present the honors to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Jeanne Gang for their contributions in the fields of law, citizen leadership and architecture, respectively.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to honor this year’s Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal recipients, who are each distinguished leaders in their chosen fields, and who embody the spirit of public service that Jefferson held in such high regard,” UVA President Scott C. Beardsley said. “I congratulate this year’s medalists on all they have achieved and look forward to celebrating their extraordinary contributions.”

The presentation in the Rotunda’s Dome Room will be the centerpiece of this year’s Founders Day Weekend, a commemoration of Jefferson’s birthday celebrated by both UVA and Monticello. Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s third president, is also �鶹�ƽ�� founder. The medals annually honor the contributions of luminaries in areas that Jefferson held in high regard.

The recipients:

Law: Roberts earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1979 and served as a law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1979-80, and then for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 1980 term.

In the early 1980s, Roberts served as a special assistant to the attorney general of the United States, associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan and as principal deputy solicitor general. He became a judge for the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003. Two years later, President George W. Bush nominated Roberts where he has presided for more than 20 years.

Discovery and Innovation: Daily research. Life-changing results.

Citizen Leadership: Gates is a researcher and professor at Harvard University and is best known for his genealogy and genetics television series, Now in its 12th season, the show traces the ancestry of celebrities and other notable figures.

Gates’ latest book, “The Black Box: Writing the Race,” was named one of The New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the Year.

Architecture: Gang is the founding partner of international architecture and urban design practice . Her portfolio includes the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History, a new United States embassy in Brazil and an expansion of the Clinton Presidential Center.

A MacArthur Fellow and the Kajima Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Gang has been named one of Time magazine’s most influential people in the world.

The awards will be presented a day after Thomas Jefferson’s April 13 birthday during a luncheon in the Rotunda Dome Room at UVA. This year’s celebrations mark the 283rd anniversary of Jefferson’s birth. Medalists will be honored later that day at a formal dinner at Monticello.

“In 2026, as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, we are called not only to revisit Jefferson’s words, but to reflect on our shared responsibility to carry their promise forward,” Jane Kamensky, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, said. “This year’s medalists demonstrate how creativity, scholarship and principled leadership strengthen American institutions and deepen our constitutional democracy. It is a privilege to celebrate their achievements at this historic moment in our nation’s story.”

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