Woodrow Wilson Awards Dinner honors Thomas M. Siebel and Condoleezza Rice
WASHINGTON—The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution presented the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship to Thomas M. Siebel, a University of Illinois graduate, and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service to The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, May 26, 2010, in Palo Alto, Calif.
“These two leaders personify the attributes we seek to honor at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Their contributions have been numerous and significant, and it gives me great pleasure that the Board of Trustees has chosen to recognize such worthy honorees,” said Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Thomas Siebel was founder, chairman, and CEO of Siebel Systems, one of the world’s leading business software companies, with 4,500 customers and more than $2 billion in revenues when it merged with Oracle Corporation in 2006. Prior to founding Siebel Systems, he served as CEO of Gain Technology and led the multimedia company to a successful merger with Sybase Corporation. In addition to his success in business, Siebel has also been a generous humanitarian.
University of Illinois President Stanley O. Ikenberry says, “The University of Illinois is extremely proud of our three-time alumnus Tom Siebel. Tom is one of this university’s most distinguished graduates and one of our most engaged benefactors. Recently elected to the University’s Engineering Hall of Fame, he has changed the world. He also has donated his time and treasure to national and global issues with a passion that equals his professional accomplishments. The University of Illinois is extremely proud of Tom. He is a deserving recipient of this most prestigious award.”
Siebel earned three degrees from the University of Illinois. He has a bachelor’s degree in history, an M.B.A. and a master’s in computer science. He is on the University of Illinois Foundation Board of Directors.
He is the founder and chairman of two philanthropic foundations: The Siebel Foundation and The Meth Project Foundation. The Siebel Foundation was established in 1996 to support projects and organizations that improve the quality of life, environment, and education of the community, including programs advancing research and education and serving the homeless and underprivileged. The Meth Project Foundation is a prevention-focused campaign aimed at reducing teen methamphetamine use through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach. In 2006, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recognized the project as the Most Influential Drug Program. Barron’s ranked Siebel among the world’s Top 25 Philanthropists in 2009, and BusinessWeek named Siebel one of the Top 50 Most Generous Philanthropists in the United States in 2007 and 2008.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has led a distinguished career as a civil servant, acclaimed scholar, and devoted educator. As a public servant, she played vital roles in advancing American interests and expanding democracy around the world, serving as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Soviet Affairs for President George H.W. Bush and as National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, before being confirmed as the 66th U.S. Secretary of State in 2005. The first African-American woman to hold this post, Secretary Rice reinvigorated the U.S. Department of State. Prior to entering public service, Rice spent 12 years teaching at Stanford University before being named the University’s first African-American and first female provost. She has returned to Stanford, where she has resumed teaching as a professor of political science and the Thomas and Barbra Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution.
The Woodrow Wilson Awards recognize leaders in government, business, science, the arts, and beyond who have embraced openness, dialogue, and service in confronting the issues of their day on the local, national, and international levels. Since their inception more than 10 years ago, the Awards have been presented in major cities across the United States and around the world.
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, established by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the living, national memorial to the United States’ 28th president. The Wilson Center is one of three American institutions (along with the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) created by congressional statute to perform a national mission within the Smithsonian Institution and is governed by its own independent board of trustees appointed by the U.S. President.
For additional Information, contact:
Don Kojich
University of Illinois Foundation
217-333-0246
dkojich@uif.uillinois.edu