Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian has been named this year’s recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership. The medal honors individuals whose work exemplifies Thomas Jefferson’s commitment to the duty and virtue of public service, and is the University’s highest external honor.
A first generation American of Iranian origin, Rezaian became The Post’s Tehran bureau chief in 2012. In 2014, he was arrested on unsubstantiated charges of espionage. Freed after 544 days of imprisonment, Rezaian has since used his platform to fight for the freedom and the liberty of others, championing the stories of other journalists imprisoned for doing their jobs and fellow Americans held hostage abroad solely because of their citizenship. His reporting continues to elevate the stories both of Iranians and those around the globe.
Rezaian will be the featured keynote speaker at Monticello’s commemoration of Jefferson’s 280th birthday on April 13 at 10 a.m. on the West Lawn of Monticello.
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals – sponsored jointly by UVA and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello – are awarded each year to recognize the achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson excelled and held in high regard.
(Read further details about all Founder’s Day events.)
Rezaian joins a list of renowned recipients of the Medal in Citizen Leadership, including Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund; the late civil rights leader and U.S. Rep. John Lewis; and Rockefeller Foundation president Rajiv Shah.
The Medal in Citizen Leadership is one of three medals to be presented this year. This year’s Medal goes to Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju, lawyers who won a landmark case before India’s Supreme Court that struck down a 157-year-old law that made gay sex illegal. The Medal in Architecture goes to Andrew Freear, the Wiatt Professor and director of Auburn University Rural Studio.
