Reno Will Receive Radcliffe Medal

The next in Radcliffe's "tradition of remarkable women," U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno will receive the 1998 Radcliffe Medal tomorrow at a luncheon in Radcliffe Yard. It is the highest honor bestowed by the Radcliffe College Alumnae Association (RCAA).

"She represents everything we admire in women," said Lyn Chamberlin, director of communications at Radcliffe College. "Courage, integrity, moral fortitude and leadership."

After receiving the award, Reno will speak about "juvenile justice and related matters," said Justice Department spokesperson Michael Gordon.

Chamberlin said the award goes to "individuals whose lives have had great impact on society."

The RCAA, in consultation with senior Radcliffe administrators, selects the recipient.

Reno's name joins a stellar list of previous recipients: Elizabeth H. Dole, Katherine Graham, Doris Kearns-Goodwin, Jessye Norman, Jane Pauley and Alice Walker.

Praising these high-profile women, Reno said in a statement to the Radcliffe News Office, "I am honored to receive this award and to be among the impressive recipients who have received it before me."

Reno, appointed by President Clinton on in 1993, is the first woman to serve as attorney general.

Born in Miami, Reno graduated from Harvard Law School in 1963--one of only 16 women in a class of 500--and attended college at Cornell University.