The primary mission of the Tower Center is to promote the study of politics and international affairs and to stimulate an interest in ethical public service among undergraduates. The Tower Center is an academic center where all parties and views are heard in a marketplace of ideas, and the Center pursues its mission in a non partisan manner.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest honor the Tower Center bestows. It is awarded in recognition of extraordinary contributions to the advancement of democratic ideals and to the security, prosperity and welfare of humanity. Recipients include:
Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Colin Powell (1997)
Former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lady Margaret Thatcher (1999)
The 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush (2001)
General Tommy Franks (2003)
Senator John McCain (2006)
Prime Minister Tony Blair (2008)
The 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush and the Former First Lady Laura Bush (2010)
Former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, James A. Baker (2012)
Dan Branch, Chair
Robert W. Jordan, Vice-Chair
Hugh C. Akin
Hunter L. Hunt
Jan Hart Black
Jan Rees-Jones
Frederick Bush
Gene Jones
Felix Chen
Brad E. Cheves, ex officio
Cary M. Maguire
Richard Collins
Nancy Cain Marcus
Penny Tower Cook
Fred Meyer
Brad O’Leary
Jeanne Tower Cox
Pat Patterson
Thomas M. Dunning
Rena Pederson
Robert A. Estrada
Sarah Perot
Alan Feld
Jeanne L. Phillips
Richard W. Fisher
Joe H. Staley, Jr.
Darab Ganji
William M. Tsutsui, ex officio
Jerome Garza
Jack C. Vaughn
Linda Gibbons
Roger Wallace
Joseph M. Grant
Ray Washburne
Nancy Halbreich
Jane Wetzel
Karen Hughes
Charles Wyly
James F. Hollifield, ex officio
Howard Baker
William L. Ball III
George W. Bush
William Cohen
J. French Hill
Kay Bailey Hutchison
Samuel R. Johnson
Tom Loeffler
John McCain
Frederick D. McClure
Dr. Nicholas Rostow
Carole Keeton Strayhorn
