Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg to Present Global Peace Award to Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

March 19, 2002

PITTSBURGH—Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City whose leadership inspired the nation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, has been named the winner of the sixth Global Peace Award of the International Amateur Athletic Association (IAAA).

Announcement of the award recipient was made by Herbert P. Douglas Jr., founder and president of IAAA, and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, chair of the award selection committee. Nordenberg will present the award to Giuliani March 27 at a black-tie dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

The Global Peace Award was established in 1993 initially in honor of Olympic great Jesse Owens and to recognize individuals who best personify Owens' humanitarian spirit. It is awarded to a person who "has made a significant and lasting contribution of enduring quality to peace" and who "has shown distinguished leadership through personal example of work, deeds, or written and spoken statements."

In selecting Giuliani for the award, the committee cited the former mayor's performance during one of the most challenging times to face America, which saw New York City, along with Washington, DC, and southwestern Pennsylvania, bear the brunt of the terrorists' attack. The IAAA selection committee praised Giuliani for his focus, perseverance, pride, endurance, team spirit, emulation, and "will to win."

Giuliani became the 107th mayor of New York City Jan. 1, 1994. By the end of his first term, he was credited with reducing the city's crime rate, stimulating the city's economy, streamlining government operations, initiating the largest workfare program in the nation, and introducing a new level of accountability and higher standards of performance into the New York City school system. But he will forever be known for his performance in the wake of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan. In the face of unspeakable horror, Giuliani rallied the city and nation, earning him the nickname, "America's Mayor."

"Giuliani taught us that the destruction of a great icon, and the loss of thousands of residents, and hundreds of its bravest and finest public servants, only increases New Yorkers' love of each other and of mankind," said Douglas.

Previous winners of the Global Peace Award are Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee; President Nelson Mandela of South Africa; Ted Turner, vice chairman of Time Warner, Inc.; United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan; and former President George H. Bush.

Also at the banquet, Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe will receive the 22nd annual American-International Athlete Trophy from the IAAA. Thorpe won six gold medals at the recent World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, breaking world records in four of the events.

Proceeds from the dinner will benefit Olympic Aid and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

The IAAA is a not-for-profit organization established in 1980 by Douglas, a University of Pittsburgh alumnus who was the 1948 Olympic long jump bronze medallist.

For more information about IAAA, call 212/922-1308, or to inquire about the upcoming banquet, phone Kristen Hall at 212/753-3999.

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3/19/02/mgc