UCSF Medal recipients with Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, from left: F. Warren Hellman, Chancellor Bishop, Janet Davison Rowley, Eugenie C. Scott and Willie L. Brown Jr.

In celebration of Founders Day, Chancellor J. Michael Bishop, MD, presented the UCSF Medal to four individuals who have made outstanding personal contributions in areas associated with UCSF's mission of teaching, research, patient care and public service. Initiated in 1975, the medal is the University's most prestigious award and replaces the granting of honorary degrees. The medals were presented at the annual Founders Day Banquet April 23 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco.

The 2008 UCSF Medal recipients are:

• Willie L. Brown Jr., former speaker of the California State Assembly and former mayor of San Francisco. Widely regarded as an immensely influential politician, he paved the way for UCSF's Mission Bay campus.
• F. Warren Hellman, philanthropist and dedicated supporter of UCSF, San Francisco and the greater community. His private equity firm Hellman & Friedman LLC has raised more than $8 billion in capital and invested in approximately 50 job-creating companies.
• Janet Davison Rowley, Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, and Human Genetics, University of Chicago. A pioneering geneticist and cancer researcher, she revealed that specific chromosomal translocations cause specific leukemias.
• Eugenie C. Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, researcher and activist in the creationism-evolution debate. She is a tireless advocate of science education.