Murphy added that Coles is a suitable candidate for the honor because of the emphasis he has placed on the need for increased public service.

"What strikes you most is how deeply committed he is to social justice and how deeply committed he is to telling the story of ordinary people and the traumatic situations they face," Murphy said.

Gregory A. Johnson '72, former Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) director, agreed with Murphy, citing Coles' commitment to student-run volunteer programs.

In the 1990s, Coles led a program for Harvard students involved in summer PBHA activities which combined literary readings and seminar discussions to give participants the chance to reflect on their volunteer experiences.

"He added the missing reflective component to the program," Johnson said. "You can't be a good human servant unless you have a conception of the milieu in which you are serving."

Johnson, a former senior tutor of Adams House, said that Coles--an associate of Adams House--has made incomparable contributions to Harvard.

"There is no one like him at the College--that is the most clear way to put it," Johnson said. "An incredible human being, a masterful teacher--he is one of the most popular professors to ever grace the College, with good reason."

Other recipients of this year's award include: Brooke Astor, the New York philanthropist; Justin Dart, Jr., considered the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act; Albert Shanker, the president of the American Federation of Teachers; and Wilma Mankiller, who became the first women to be elected as the leader of an American Indian tribe.

Past recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom include former Senator Bob Dole, former surgeon general C. Everett Coop, A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., public service professor of jurisprudence at the Kennedy School of Government, Eugene Lang, founder and chair of the "I Have a Dream" Foundation and Joan Ganz Cooney, the creator of "Sesame Street.