The John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies' is an American

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, and now associated with

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

. 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 The marketplace of ideas is a rationale for freedom of expression based on an analogy to the Economics, economic concept of a free market. The marketplace of ideas holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent ...

, and the Center pursues its mission in a non partisan manner.John Goodwin Tower Center
Official website. Retrieved July 2011

Medal of Freedom

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 Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

(1997) * Former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Lady

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

(1999) * The 41st President of the United States,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

(2001) * General

Tommy Franks Tommy Ray Franks (born 17 June 1945) is a retired general in the United States Army. His last army post was as the Commander of the United States Central Command, overseeing United States military operations in a 25-country region, including the ...

(2003) * Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

(2006) * Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

(2008) * The 43rd President of the United States,

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and the Former First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (''née'' Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American teacher, librarian, memoirist and author who was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. Bush previously served as First Lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000. ...

(2010) * Former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, James A. Baker (2012)

Board of directors

Dan Branch Dan H. Branch (born March 5, 1958) is an American politician who served as the Texas State Representative for the 108th district from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he represented part of Dallas.Robert W. Jordan Robert W. Jordan (born October 9, 1945) is an American lawyer and diplomat. He served as the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia The United States recognized the government of King Ibn Saud in 1931, but it was not until 1939 when it appoi ...

, 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 Richard W. Fisher (born 1949) is the former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, having served in that post from April 2005 to 2015. He is a Senior Advisor to Barclays Plc, a British bank holding company, a Director of Peps ...

* 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 Karen Parfitt Hughes (born December 27, 1956) is the global vice chair of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller. She served as the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and as a c ...

* Charles Wyly * James F. Hollifield, ex officio

Honorary Board of Directors

Howard Baker Howard Henry Baker Jr. (November 15, 1925 June 26, 2014) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1967 to 1985. During his tenure, he rose to the rank of Senate Minority Leader and then ...

* William L. Ball III *

William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (born August 28, 1940) is an American lawyer, author, and politician from the U.S. state of Maine. A Republican, Cohen served as both a member of the United States House of Representatives (1973–1979) and Senate (1979� ...

* J. French Hill *

Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republi ...

* Samuel R. Johnson *

Tom Loeffler Thomas Gilbert Loeffler (born August 1, 1946) is an American politician and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from central Texas. Loeffler was born in Fredericksburg in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and ...

* Frederick D. McClure * Dr. Nicholas Rostow *

Carole Keeton Strayhorn Carole Stewart Keeton (born September 13, 1939), formerly known as Carole Keeton McClellan, Carole Keeton Rylander and Carole Keeton Strayhorn, is an American politician and the former Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Elected to the comptro ...

References

{{Reflist Political science organizations