--- title: Presidential Medal of Freedom: Who the Honorees Are description: President Obama will give the award to 17 people on Nov. 24 canonical: https://time.com/4116945/presidential-medal-recipients-2015/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-24T14:00:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:42:31.662Z article:section: History og:title: Presidential Medal of Freedom: Who the Honorees Are og:description: President Obama will give the award to 17 people on Nov. 24 og:url: https://time.com/4116945/presidential-medal-recipients-2015/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd084da3823a140f1/69887195f887dcbc47e935e0/wr.jpeg?branch=production&width=577&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 577 og:image:height: 325 og:image:alt: William D. Ruckelshaus og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Presidential Medal of Freedom: Who the Honorees Are twitter:description: President Obama will give the award to 17 people on Nov. 24 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd084da3823a140f1/69887195f887dcbc47e935e0/wr.jpeg?branch=production&width=577&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What You Should Know About the EPA Chief Getting a Presidential Medal of Freedom > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 24, 2015 2:00 PM UTC  William D. Ruckelshaus on Apr. 5, 1971 William D. Ruckelshaus on Apr. 5, 1971 Barry Staver—Post Archive/Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 24, 2015 2:00 PM UTC Compared to people like Barbra Streisand and Yogi Berra, it’s hard to seem important—even if you’re receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Tuesday. That’s especially likely to be true if your description in the official [announcement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom) is “dedicated public servant” rather than actor or athlete. But for people like William Ruckelshaus, being less glamorous doesn’t mean making less of an impact on history. Here’s why he matters: Ruckelshaus served as Deputy Attorney General in the Nixon Administration and resigned the post rather than carry out an order to fire the Watergate special prosecutor. He was also the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency (and later returned to lead the agency in the 1980s). When the EPA was established in 1970, TIME dubbed Ruckelshaus the “Policeman for Pollution” and explained that he had been fighting for the environment since before the modern environmental movement went mainstream: --- > “” --- And, though President Nixon himself was [quoted](http://time.com/vault/issue/1972-01-03/page/55/) joking with Ruckelshaus, “You’re the enforcer…You’re going to be called a lot worse,” the EPA chief pulled off the impressive feat of winning praise for conservationists and businesses alike as a no-nonsense but judicious guide for environmental policy. Not that he would have minded some name-calling in service of the environment. “In a job like this,” he told TIME, “you’re bound to ruffle some feathers.” **_Read the full 1970 story here, in the TIME Vault:_** [Policeman for Pollution](http://time.com/vault/issue/1970-11-23/page/49/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4116945/presidential-medal-recipients-2015/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4116945/presidential-medal-recipients-2015/"},"headline":"What You Should Know About the EPA Chief Getting a Presidential Medal of Freedom","datePublished":"2015-11-24T14:00:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:42:31.662Z","description":"President Obama will give the award to 17 people on Nov. 24","url":"https://time.com/4116945/presidential-medal-recipients-2015/","keywords":["White House","Obama","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd084da3823a140f1/69887195f887dcbc47e935e0/wr.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd084da3823a140f1/69887195f887dcbc47e935e0/wr.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"William D. 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