DePauw, 1952
Lee H. Hamilton was an honorary inductee into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame on June 15, 2015 in Orlando, Fla.
A dedicated public servant, Congressman Lee Hamilton’s legacy of service to his country and to the people of the state of Indiana has been unrivaled for more than a half century.
A basketball standout in the early 1950’s at DePauw University, an institution that has produced so many hoop luminaries that include Boston Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens, Congressman Hamilton averaged nearly 11 points per game over the course of three seasons for the Tigers, including a double-double effort of 10.9 points and a team-best 10.7 rebounds during his senior campaign of 1951-52. He earned a degree in history from DePauw in 1952 and graduated with high distinction (the equivalent of cum laude) while earning the Walker Cup as a member of the senior class determined to have done the most for the school during his or her college career. Elected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, Congressman Hamilton was enshrined in his alma mater’s Athletic Hall of Fame five years later.
Hamilton was elected to the United States House of Representatives in January 1965 and served Indiana’s 9th District with great distinction for the next 34 years. He served as chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. Hamilton also served as chairman of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress and worked to promote integrity and efficiency in the institution.
After his retirement from the House of Representatives, Hamilton served for 11 years as President of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars located in Washington, D.C. He served as vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks (also known as the 9/11 Commission) and also served as co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker.
Congressman Hamilton served as Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the President’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, the CIA External Board and the United States Department of Homeland Security Task Force on Preventing the Entry of Weapons of Mass Effect on American Soil.