Accordance of the Personal Rank of Ambassador to Michael Novak While Serving as Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Meeting on Human Contacts of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

The President today announced his intention to accord the personal rank of Ambassador to Michael Novak, of the District of Columbia, as Chairman of the United States delegation to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe experts' meeting on human contacts in Bern, Switzerland.

Mr. Novak was a teaching fellow in general education at Harvard University from 1961 to 1963. He then became assistant professor of philosophy and religion at the State University of New York from 1968 to 1973. From 1973 to 1974, he was associate director of humanities at the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1974-1976 he was a writer and lecturer, and from 1976 to 1980, he was a writer at Universal Press Syndicate. In 1977-1978 he was distinguished professor of religion at Syracuse University. In 1978-1986 he wrote for National Review. Since 1978 he has been a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, DC. Mr. Novak's government service includes the following: 1976-1979, he served on the National Ethnic Heritage Advisory Council; 1981-1983, the Representative of the United States of America on the Human Rights Commission of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations; 1983 to the present, member of the Board for International Broadcasting; 1984, member of the Monitoring Panel for UNESCO; and 1985 to present, a member of the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice.

Mr. Novak graduated from Stonehill College (A.B., 1956), Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (B.T., 1958), and Harvard University (M.A., 1965). He attended Catholic University from 1958 to 1959. He is married, has three children, and was born September 9, 1933, in Johnstown, PA.