May 20
COVID Courage Award for Amy Acton
On behalf of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present special Profile in Courage awards to Amy (Stearns) Acton, M.D. (’90), and six others at a virtual ceremony scheduled to air Wednesday, May 26 at 6 p.m. The new COVID Courage awards will go to seven “who risked their lives and safety to protect others during the coronavirus pandemic,” Cleveland.com wrote.
Dr. Acton was the director of the Ohio Department of Health, advising Gov. Mike DeWine during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. She resigned from the post in June 2020.
The statement announcing the awards noted that “under Acton’s leadership, Ohio was ahead of most other states in responding to the virus. Yet she became the target of protesters and state legislators, who sought to limit her power and engaged in personal attacks against her.”
Caroline Kennedy is honorary president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, named for her father, the late 35th president. The Profiles in Courage award takes its name from Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage, about eight U.S. senators who held fast to their principles.
