The longest serving president in the history of the University of Notre Dame, Reverend Theodore Hesburgh oversaw the transition to coeducation, the growth in institutional operating budgets and endowments and a doubling of enrollment and degree attainment during his tenure. Hesburgh served on the United States Civil Rights Commission and the Knight Commission on college athletics and founded People for the American Way. He is the recipient of over 150 honorary degrees, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964), and the Congressional Gold Medal (1999).