Actor, Advocate LeVar Burton Awarded 2019 Inamori Ethics Prize

Each year, the Inamori Ethics Prize recognizes an exemplary international ethical leader whose actions and influence have improved the human condition. The award, presented by Case Western Reserve University’s Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, supports the Center’s mission to foster ethical leadership around the world.

This year, the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence has selected LeVar Burton, renowned actor, director, producer, writer and advocate.

Burton is the first Inamori Ethics Prize winner from the Arts, recognized for his work in advocacy on behalf of causes such as children’s literacy and development, AIDS research and treatment, and through his own nonprofit, RRKIDZ. According to Shannon E. French, Inamori Professor in Ethics and director of the Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence, Burton is “a wonderful example of what it is to be an ethical leader in the arts.”

Burton is best known for hosting Reading Rainbow, a long-running PBS children’s program designed to foster a love of reading, and for other award-winning roles in television and film. Burton serves on the board of directors for the AIDS Research Alliance (ARA), a non-profit medical research organization dedicated to finding a cure for AIDS.

Case Western Reserve will present the Inamori Ethics Prize to Burton during Inamori Center events on the Case Western Reserve campus, Sept. 19-20. The prize carries with it a monetary award, which is intended to support the recipient’s ongoing work.

The Inamori Ethics Prize has been awarded annually since 2008 to honor an individual for significant and lasting contributions to ethical leadership on the global stage. The Callahan Foundation is proud to be the title sponsor for the Inamori Ethics Prize ceremony, lecture and symposium.

Learn more about the Inamori Ethics Prize and the 2019 honoree, LeVar Burton.