WASHINGTON—Jessica T. Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has been awarded the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership by the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. 

The Foundation Medals are the highest honors bestowed by the university, which was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. The Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership recognizes private citizens who have exercised leadership in the public arena in a non-governmental capacity.

Mathews was given the award for her leadership of Carnegie Endowment and her vision of transforming Carnegie, America’s oldest foreign policy think tank, into the world's first global think tank. 

Today, Carnegie has research centers in Moscow, Beijing, Beirut, and Brussels, in addition to its headquarters in Washington. A new center is expected to open in India in 2013, and a new program for Central Asia was launched in October 2011.

Harry Harding, dean of UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, said: “Mathews has advanced Carnegie's reputation for objective, influential, non-partisan analysis that provides insight into emerging transnational issues and explores collaborative solutions.” 

Mathews said: “I am honored to receive the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership. The award recognizes our belief that a twenty-first century think tank should have an international presence and a multinational outlook, and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Carnegie staff around the world.” 

The Batten School will host a talk by Jessica Mathews on April 12 in Charlottesville. Mathews will also be the featured speaker at Monticello's commemoration of Jefferson's 269th birthday April 13 at 10:00 a.m. on the west lawn of Monticello. The celebration is free and open to the public.