Dr. William Foege, a physician and epidemiologist with Iowa roots and ties to Wartburg College, is among 13 distinguished Americans named to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Foege, 76, the son of a Wartburg graduate, was instrumental in the campaign to eradicate smallpox. He was born in Decorah and lived in Eldorado until age 10 when his family moved to Washington state.

Foege will join former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, legendary musician Bob Dylan, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, former astronaut and senator John Glenn, recently retired University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt and seven others as recipients of the nation’s highest civilian award at a White House ceremony later this spring.  

Wartburg recognized Foege in 1993 with the Graven Award, presented annually to a person “whose life is nurtured and guided by a strong sense of Christian calling and who is making a significant contribution to community, church and society.” Foege, of Vashon Island, Wash., is the son of William Foege, a Lutheran pastor and 1925 Wartburg graduate.  

As a medical missionary in Nigeria in the 1970s, Foege developed a “surveillance and containment” immunization strategy that was key to the worldwide eradication of smallpox. His recent book, “House on Fire,” chronicles those efforts in Africa and India.

Foege was appointed Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1977 and, with colleagues, founded the Task Force for Child Survival in 1984. He became executive director of The Carter Center in 1986 and continues to serve the organization as a senior fellow. He helped shape the global health work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and continues to champion issues of child survival and development, injury prevention and preventive medicine.  

According to the White House, Foege’s leadership “has contributed significantly to increased awareness and action on global health issues, and his enthusiasm, energy, and effectiveness in these endeavors have inspired a generation of leaders in public health.”

“These extraordinary honorees come from different backgrounds and different walks of life, but each of them has made a lasting contribution to the life of our nation,” President Obama said in a statement announcing the medal recipients.