From Wikipedia:

The Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh, CSC, STD (born May 25, 1917 at Syracuse, New York),a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. He is the namesake for TIAA-CREF’s Hesburgh Award.
Hesburgh grew up in Syracuse and had wished to become a priest since early childhood. He studied at Notre Dame until his seminary sent him to Italy. He studied in Rome until he was forced to leave due to the outbreak of World War II. He graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1945, having earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology. He became executive vice-president in 1949 and served in that position for 3 years.
He served as Notre Dame’s President for 35 years (1952-87), the longest tenure so far. He holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for “Most Honorary Degrees”, having been awarded 150. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, the Congressional Gold Medal on December 9 1999[1], and the United States Military Academy’s Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1980. In 1982 he was awarded the F. Sadlier Dinger Award by educational publisher William H. Sadlier, Inc. in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the ministry of religious education in America. He was the first recipient of the NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award in 2004.

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