VARTAN GREGORIAN, PRESIDENT OF CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TO RECEIVE 2004 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

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VARTAN GREGORIAN, PRESIDENT OF CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK TO RECEIVE 
2004 PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM ONE OF THIRTEEN RECPIENTS TO BE HONORED 
ON JUNE 23, 2004

New York, NY-June 22, 2004. Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie 
Corporation of New York, has been chosen as one of thirteen 2004 recipients 
of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award. 
Established in 1945 by President Harry Truman, the award is given each year 
to distinguished leaders for service in a range of disciplines. In the White 
House announcement, Gregorian is recognized as a scholar and historian, and 
for his work in revitalizing the New York Public Library and for his years 
of service as a professor and leader at six universities in the United 
States as well as his philanthropic endeavors.

"It is a great tribute to Vartan who is a teacher's teacher, a scholar's 
scholar and a philanthropist's philanthropist," said Helene Kaplan, chairman 
of the board of trustees at Carnegie Corporation. "To be recognized for a 
lifetime's work can be daunting, but what we on the Corporation's board know 
only too clearly, is that no honor will slow down the vitality and 
creativity of Vartan. He has taken the subjects and skills he has mastered 
at each job and brought them to the foundation in a way that has made the 
Corporation a powerhouse of ideas and possibilities. It is wonderful to see 
the White House recognize his life's work and his continuing contributions."

"This is wonderful choice by President Bush," said Governor Thomas Kean, 
immediate past chair of the Corporation's board of trustees. "It reveals a 
deep respect for the role of a scholar in public life and recognizes the 
great importance of both universities and libraries to America. Vartan has 
been honored by both the academic and library community many times, and this 
Medal of Freedom honors not only Vartan personally, but also, both 
communities whose work is vital to our nation."

Gregorian was named the president of Carnegie Corporation of New York in 
1997 and joined as the eleventh president after serving for nine years at 
president of Brown University. As president and chief executive officer of 
the New York Public Library before that, Gregorian is credited with 
returning the fabled city institution to its international esteem and 
grandeur. Gregorian is an historian who began his teaching career after 
graduating from Stanford University. He has taught at San Francisco State, 
Stanford, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Los 
Angelese, and University of Texas at Austin. University of Pennsylvania, New 
York University and The New School for Social Research. It was at the 
University of Pennsylvania that Gregorian rose in the ranks of academic 
leadership, first as the founding dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 
later accepting the job of provost.

Gregorian's book on Afghanistan, The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: 
Politics of Reform and Modernization 1880-1946 is considered a classic about 
the history of that country. Recently he authored Islam: A Mosaic Not a 
Monolith and his autobiography The Road to Home. He has won numerous awards 
and honorary degrees, including the highest award of the American Library 
Association, its honorary membership.

Gregorian is the third president of Carnegie Corporation of New York to be 
honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. John Gardner was awarded the 
medal in 1964 and David Hamburg in 1995.

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to 
promote "the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." As a 
grantmaking foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie's vision 
of philanthropy, which he said should aim "to do real and permanent good in 
the world."

The Corporation's capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 
million, had a market value of $1.8 billion on September 30, 2003. The 
Corporation awards grants totaling approximately $80 million a year in the 
areas of education, international peace and security, international 
development and strengthening U.S. democracy.