By Nate Hoekstra
Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies will present Ambassador Carla Hills, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Trade Representative, with the Hauenstein Fellowship Medal, one of the highest honors the university can give.
The presentation of the medal will follow Hills’ William E. Simon Lecture in Public Affairs, celebrating President Gerald R. Ford’s 104th birthday, at the Ford Presidential Museum at 7 p.m. on July 13.
Hills served as President Ford’s HUD Secretary (the third woman to hold a cabinet position) and also served as an assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.
She has also served as a professor in UCLA’s law school and is currently the chairman and CEO of Hills & Company International Consultants.
The Hauenstein Fellowship Medal recognizes the extraordinary life of the center’s namesake, Ralph Hauenstein, and is intended to recognize public servants who exemplify the service and leadership that Grand Valley State University seeks to inspire in its students and graduates.
“The conferral of the Hauenstein Medal is always a very special occasion for our center, as it allows us to reflect on Ralph’s life and achievements while celebrating someone who holds the same leadership ideals,” said center director Gleaves Whitney.
Previous recipients of the Col. Ralph W. Hauenstein Fellowship Medal include President Gerald R. Ford (posthumously), Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State James A. Baker, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, Ambassador John Beyrle, and Admiral James M. Loy.
For more information, visit hauensteincenter.org.
