Quartet awarded Bradley Prizes

A leading conservative foundation has named two newspaper columnists, a law professor and a presidential adviser on bioethics as recipients of its inaugural Bradley Prizes.

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced yesterday that the prizes — worth $250,000 each — were awarded to Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, bioethicist Leon R. Kass, Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer and Hoover Institution economist Thomas Sowell, whose syndicated column appears in The Washington Times.

“These outstanding individuals are being recognized for achievements that are consistent with the mission statement of the foundation, including the promotion of liberal democracy, democratic capitalism, and a vigorous defense of American institutions,” said Michael W. Grebe, president and chief executive officer of the Bradley Foundation.

The Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation has long funded conservative think tanks, including the Heritage Foundation. The establishment of the Bradley Prizes has been seen as a conservative alternative to the McArthur Foundation’s “genius awards” of $500,000, which have been given to liberals like philosopher Richard Rorty, journalist Paul Berman and population-control activist Paul Erhlich.

“Each year, through the Bradley Prizes, we will recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions and hopefully, encourage others to strive for excellence in their respective fields,” Mr. Grebe said.

The Bradley Prizes will be presented in an Oct. 7 ceremony at the Library of Congress:

• Mrs. Glendon has written extensively on family law and human rights law and was appointed by Pope John Paul II as an adviser to the Vatican. Along with Dr. Kass, she was appointed by President Bush to the President’s Council on Bioethics.

• Dr. Kass is a professor at the University of Chicago and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Doctor Kass’s scholarship has focused on the broader moral and cultural questions raised by biomedical advances,” the foundation said in announcing the award. Dr. Kass is chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics.

• Mr. Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution in Palo Alto, Calif., and the author of 30 books, including “The Vision of the Anointed.” The Bradley Foundation said: “Doctor Sowell is a formidable presence in the nation’s intellectual life. He is well respected for the quality of his work, intellectual rigor, and fierce independence.”

• Mr. Krauthammer is a Pulitzer Prize winner for distinguished commentary. In addition to his column in The Post, which is nationally syndicated, he is a regular contributor to Fox News and the Weekly Standard. Mr. Krauthammer “articulates a public philosophy in the best tradition of American thought,” the Bradley Foundation said.

Mr. Krauthammer said the $250,000 award was particularly welcome because his son, Daniel, just started classes as a freshman at Harvard last week.

“A friend of mine e-mailed me [with congratulations on the prize], and the subject line was ‘college tuition,’” Mr. Krauthammer said. “My brother had the best line. When he found out, he said, ‘It’s like winning a golf tournament,’ then he paused and said, ‘No, it’s like coming in third in a golf tournament.’ He knows how to put his little brother in his place.”

He said the establishment of the Bradley Prizes is needed because “the major awards tend to be sparse in their consideration of people outside the liberal mainstream. Anything that can correct that — and I would have said this before I won — is welcome.”