IU President Michael A. McRobbie presented the inaugural Richard G. Lugar Award to former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie L. Yovanovitch during the fifth annual conference on America's Role in the World at IU Bloomington March 6.
The award honors Senator Lugar's commitment to bipartisanship and pragmatic foreign policy.
McRobbie said Lugar would be proud that Ambassador Yovanovitch is the first recipient of the award.
"The Ambassador played a major role in shaping and implementing U.S. post-Cold War policy, helping to advance democracy, prosperity, security, and the rule of law in the post-Soviet era," McRobbie said. "Ambassador Yovanovitch’s distinguished career also reflects the principles we seek to uphold at Indiana University and the values we seek to instill in our students—a commitment to understanding other cultures and societies; an ability to master difficult subjects and to explain them clearly to non-expert audiences; a willingness, to speak truth to power effectively and dispassionately; and a commitment to the best traditions of this country’s founding principles and to its Constitution."
McRobbie presented Ambassador Yovanovitch with the award ahead of her remarks at IU Auditorium. Yovanovitch also answered questions during a discussion with former Ambassador Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the Hamilton Lugar School.
