2-18-99

HUMANITIES DEAN RECEIVES NATIONAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AWARD

   COLUMBUS -- Kermit L. Hall, dean of The Ohio State University College of Humanities, will receive a national award from the Coalition on Government Information for his role in releasing federal records relating to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

   Hall will receive the 1999 James Madison Award along with other board members and congressional sponsors of the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board. Named for President James Madison, the award is presented annually on March 16, the anniversary of Madison’s birth and Freedom of Information Day, to honor those who have championed, protected and promoted public access to government information.

   Hall, also a professor of history and law and executive dean of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, served on the review board until it disbanded in September 1998 after presenting its final report. Congress established the panel in 1992 to re-examine for release the records related to Kennedy’s assassination that federal agencies deemed too sensitive to open to the public. The board reviewed and voted on more than 27,000 previously redacted records and obtained agencies’ consent to release an additional 33,000 records. More than 4 million pages of records now are available to the public through the National Archives.

   The Coalition on Government Information was founded in 1986 by the American Library Association. The 50-member coalition includes diverse groups who share Madison’s commitment to open public access to government information.

Contact: Kermit L. Hall, Humanities, (614) 292-1882