Timothy Shriver, chairman of , will receive the 2026 — the oldest and most prestigious honor given exclusively to American Catholics — at Notre Dame’s 181st on May 17 (Sunday).
As chairman of the Special Olympics International board of directors, Shriver has played a leading role in driving the organization’s largest expansion in its history — growing the movement from 1 million athletes to over 4 million athletes in more than 200 countries and territories around the world.
Shriver is also the co-founder of UNITE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people bridge political divides, and was instrumental in developing the — a new tool to help Americans disagree without demonizing each other.
“Drawing on his deep faith, Tim has devoted his life to being a force for good. Whether through his leadership of Special Olympics, his work in education or his commitment to fostering civil discourse, he is a tireless advocate for human dignity,” Notre Dame President, said. “In awarding him the Laetare Medal, we honor his inspiring witness and his dedication to building bridges in service of a more just and compassionate world.”
Special Olympics — a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities through programming in sports, health, education and inclusive leadership — was founded in 1968 by Shriver’s mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Shriver’s father, Robert Sargent Shriver, also served as president and board chair in the 1980s and 1990s.
“My parents never retired. They loved their work. They loved the Special Olympics movement. So my mom and dad were not looking to hand off the torch; they just wanted someone to help carry it,” Shriver said. “Most of all, I think they wanted confidence that whoever was going to lead the movement into the future understood it. And we have tried to maintain that same vision — to see the dignity of every human being and to stay focused on what matters most, which is that every child who comes into this movement deserves to be treated with dignity and hope and justice and joy. Give them a chance, every one, no exceptions.”
Shriver joined the Special Olympics movement in 1996 and currently serves as chairman. During his tenure, he has broadened Special Olympics’ global reach and sought to enhance the quality of life for millions of people with disabilities by creating new initiatives in athletic leadership, health services and education development.
To date, the Healthy Athletes initiative, launched in 1997, has provided free health care screenings to more than 2 million athletes in more than 135 countries. And the Special Olympics Unified Sports initiative, which began in the 1980s and was significantly expanded under his leadership, brings together athletes with and without intellectual disabilities on the same playing field to promote a culture of inclusion.
“I look at the work of the last half century of the Special Olympics movement as largely shifting the lens from, ‘What’s wrong with them?’ to ‘How much can we accomplish if it’s us, not us versus them? If we’re all seen as equally gifted, as opposed to some being better than others?’” he said. “These were all lessons that were taught to me very early in life, and I’m grateful for them.”
Shriver earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University, a master’s degree from Catholic University and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Connecticut. He began his career in public education and helped launch the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) by leading the New Haven Social Development program, which pioneered SEL strategies across K-12 classrooms. Building on that program’s success, Shriver co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) at Yale in 1994 and chairs its board of directors.
Building on his experience with Special Olympics and convinced that treating others with dignity eases division, Shriver founded UNITE in 2018 to try to bridge the political divides in the United States. Launched in 2022, the Dignity Index is an eight-point scale to gauge whether the language people use reflects contempt or respect for those with other views. The UNITE team now works with politicians, educators, faith leaders and corporations across the country to advocate for dignity as a “winning strategy” in every field of endeavor.
Shriver, who has also served as executive producer of several award-winning films, is the author of the New York Times bestseller “Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most” and co-editor of “The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.”
In recognition of his visionary leadership, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Medal of the City of Athens, Greece; 1995 Connecticut Citizen of the Year; the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero of the Republic of Panama and the Presidential Medallion from the University of Illinois. He has also received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Fordham University and Villanova University, among others.
The Laetare (pronounced lay-TAH-ray) Medal is so named because its recipient is announced each year in celebration of Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent on the Church calendar. “Laetare,” the Latin word for “rejoice,” is the first word in the entrance antiphon of the Mass that Sunday, which ritually anticipates the celebration of Easter. The medal bears the Latin inscription, “Magna est veritas et praevalebit” (“Truth is mighty, and it shall prevail”).
Established at Notre Dame in 1883, the Laetare Medal was conceived as an American counterpart of the Golden Rose, a papal honor that antedates the 11th century. The medal has been awarded annually at Notre Dame to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the Church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”
Previous recipients of the Laetare Medal include Civil War Gen. William Rosecrans; Governor of New York Alfred Smith; actress Helen Hayes; Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day; teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar Sister Thea Bowman; novelist Walker Percy; counselor and advocate for death row prisoners Sister Helen Prejean; Cardinal Joseph Bernardin; singer Aaron Neville; actor Martin Sheen; and CEO of Feeding America Claire Babineaux-Fontenot.
“I know I don’t belong in the company of many of the people who have received this medal,” Shriver said. “I think it’s being given to me as a placeholder for the people who are doing the work every day. It’s being given to me so that the athlete who’s in a refugee camp in Tanzania running 50 meters this afternoon will somehow know that the world is paying attention, and so that his mom at the finish line will know that her son matters. I’m a good channel for people who deserve it, and I’m grateful to be able to be that channel.”
Shriver is the only Laetare Medalist in Notre Dame history whose parents were both recipients as well. His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, received the Laetare Medal in 1988 for her own work with Special Olympics, and his father, Robert Sargent Shriver, was the 1968 Laetare Medalist in recognition of his work in founding the Peace Corps. Timothy Shriver’s uncle, President John F. Kennedy, received the medal in 1961.
Contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu, 574-993-9220