Robert S. Lawrence, professor and associate dean for professional education programs at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a world leader in human rights and the environment, will receive the 2002 Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism for his lifelong efforts to improve health care, human rights and the environment.

Lawrence, who helped found the organization Physicians for Human Rights in 1986 and later the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, will receive the award in a ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at Evergreen House.

Robert Lawrence

The Albert Schweitzer Prize is given under the auspices of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in New York and is administered by Johns Hopkins. The award, which carries a $15,000 cash prize, was established in 1986 by Albert Toepfer, an international grain merchant from Hamburg, Germany, to advance the cause of humanitarianism by recognizing exemplary contributions to humanity and the environment.

President William R. Brody will make the presentation, accompanied by Rhena Schweitzer, daughter of Albert Schweitzer, and Heinrich Toepfer and Lore Toepfer, son and daughter of Alfred Toepfer.

Previous recipients of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism include President Jimmy Carter, Marian Wright Edelman, Norman Cousins, C. Everett Koop and the late Gwen Grant Mellon.

The Hopkins community is invited to attend the event, which begins at 1:30 p.m. and will be followed by a reception. To reserve a place, call the Office of Special Events at 410-516-7157.