Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars honors Jack Nicklaus

The Golden Bear and financial innovator Stephen Schwarzman receive the 2008 awards for service in public and private sectors

West Palm Beach, Fla. – Motivated by the global impact he has made in his second career as a world-class designer, as well as his philanthropic efforts at home, Jack Nicklaus was honored Saturday night (Jan. 19) with The Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship before a packed room of close to 500 gathered at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for Performing Arts. The Wilson Award for Public Service was presented to financial market innovator Stephen Schwarzman.

With its Woodrow Wilson Awards, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars recognizes leaders in business and public service from around the world and across the political spectrum. Recipients share President Wilson’s vision of improving our policies and institutions through enlightened and deliberate dialogue and stand as living testaments to what may be accomplished when the worlds of learning, public affairs and business come together in common interest.

The Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship is given to executives who exemplify a commitment to the common good—beyond the bottom line. They are the people who demonstrate that private firms should be stellar citizens in their own neighborhoods, as well as in the world. Nicklaus has been involved in the design of 262 courses through his business, Nicklaus Design. Nicklaus Design courses are represented in 32 countries, 38 states, and at least 84 have hosted a combined total of close to 600 professional tournaments or significant national amateur championships. At least 60 Nicklaus Design courses have appeared in various national and international Top-100 lists. The firm also has projects under development in 45 different countries, including 28 in which Nicklaus Design has never been involved, including Croatia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Vietnam and Cambodia.

“You only get one life, one shot at it, and you need to make the most of it,” Nicklaus told the crowd. “You not only want to be satisfied with yourself and your accomplishments, but you hope that along the way, you have touched a life or two, and you have made a difference. I am fortunate to be able to say that I not only lived out a blessed career through playing the game of golf, but I have enjoyed—and still enjoy tremendously—a second career through the business of golf.

“In many ways, I am finding even more personal satisfaction in this second career, because I am able to give back to the game that has been so good to me; I am able to impact the growth of the game worldwide, and, as we would all like to do, touch lives along the way. Tonight, I thank you for, in some small way, recognizing me as much for what I am doing today, as what I did yesterday.”

Nicklaus, who has been recognized by one publication as the Most Powerful Person in Golf for four straight years, has used his iconic status to introduce and grow the game of golf in emerging markets worldwide. At the same time, he has proven that golf can not only enhance global tourism and economies, but can impact the lives of those who call these countries home. For example, a little more than a year ago, Nicklaus Design’s first golf course in the Dominican Republic was opened at Cap Cana by Punta Cana on the eastern coastline. Cap Cana recorded more $655 million in property sales last year, but more important, the project created more than 4,000 jobs—most being Dominicans from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo. When the project is completed, they will employ more than 28,000, with housing and a school on site.

“It has been said that too often in business or life we over-exaggerate yesterday, we overestimate tomorrow, and we underestimate today,” Nicklaus said. “We dwell too much on the good or bad that happened yesterday, and bank too much on what might happen tomorrow. Today matters. And I like to think that throughout my career and life I have tried to make the most of today.”

Nicklaus closed his speech by acknowledging Barbara, his wife of 47 years, and his five children, most of whom attended the event. He credited Barbara for being the guiding light for the family’s influence on lives at the local level through her myriad charitable efforts, the most notable being the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, which supports numerous pediatric health-care services in a five-county area, including Palm Beach.

“We talked earlier about making a difference, and the importance of making a difference for others with others,” Nicklaus said. “That’s why we hope we have touched the lives of our own children and instilled in them the values and the motivation to carry on what Barbara and I have tried to start.

“I have always said that no matter what I did in my tournament career, golf course design will be my lasting legacy.” Nicklaus then looked at the table where his children were seated, and added, “But if I could re-write that tonight, I would say that if Barbara and I did our jobs right, our legacy is sitting right there.”

Past recipients of the Woodrow Wilson Awards for Corporate Citizenship include Alexander Dreyfoos of the Dreyfoos Company, Sherry Lansing of Paramount Pictures, Ross Perot, Jr. and Ted Turner.

Schwarzman, co-founder, chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, is receiving the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, which is given to individuals who have served with distinction in public life and have shown a commitment to seeking informed opinions and thoughtful views. In addition to overseeing one of the most successful investment and advisory firms in the world, Schwarzman recently accepted chairmanship of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which reflects his longstanding commitment to the theater and arts, including his support of the New York City Ballet, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Frick Collection. Schwarzman also donates his time to the Council for Foreign Relations, the New York Public Library, the New York City Partnership and his alma mater, Harvard Business School.

Past recipients of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service include Vice President Richard Cheney and The Honorable Lynne Cheney, Senator John H. Glenn, Senator Bob Graham, Dr. Henry A. Kissinger and Former First Lady Betty Ford.

For more information about the Woodrow Wilson Awards, call visit www.wilsoncenter.org.

About The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Established by the U.S. Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., The Wilson Center is the living, national memorial to the United States’ 28th president. The Center is one of three American institutions (along with the National Gallery of Art and the Kennedy Center) created by congressional statute to perform a national mission within the Smithsonian Institution and is governed by its own independent Board of Trustees appointed by the U.S. President.

A nonpartisan institution supported by public and private funds, the Center explores national and global issues through free, open, and informed dialogue. The Honorable Joseph B. Gildenhorn is chairman of the Board of Trustees, and previously served as U.S. ambassador to Switzerland (1983-1993). Lee H. Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, served as a member of Congress for 34 years and provided service as vice chairman of the independent 9/11 Commission. He also recently served as co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group with former Secretary of State James Baker.