The award is named after former Illinois Representative Sidney Yates, who was an unwavering champion of the humanities and arts. An undergraduate philosophy major, semiprofessional basketball player, and member of the Navy during World War II, Representative Yates served 24 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. While in Congress, Yates was instrumental in securing the public support for the humanities that George Washington called for in his First Annual Address to Congress and in fulfilling the mandate of the 1965 National Foundation for the Arts and Humanities Act.
Past Awardees
Representative Dina Titus (D-NV-01) (2025)
Representative Mike Carey (R-OH-15) (2025)
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) (2024)
Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01) (2024)
Senator Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) (2020)
Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID-02) (2020)
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) (2019)
Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) (2019)
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) (2018)
Representative Leonard Lance (R-NJ-07) (2018)
Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ-12) (2011)
Representative Tom Petri (R-WI-06) (2011)
Representative Norman D. Dicks (D-WA-06) (2008)
Representative Jim Leach (R-IA-02) (2005)
Representative David Price (D-NC-04) (2005)
Representative Louise Slaughter (D-NY-28) (2004)
Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) (2001)
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) (2000)
Representative Tillie Fowler (R-FL-04) (2000)
Representative Sidney R. Yates (R-IL-09)