CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The University of Virginia has announced U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will receive the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law in celebration of Jefferson’s birthday next month.

PBS television host Henry Louis Gates Jr. and architect Jeanne Gang will also be honored April 14 at the Rotunda by the foundation for their contributions in their fields of law, UVA announced.

University of Virginia President Scott Beardsley called the honorees, “distinguished leaders in their chosen fields, and who embody the spirit of public service that Jefferson held in such high regard,” in a statement.

The medal awards are sponsored jointly by the University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello.

“The Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medals are awarded each year to recognize the achievements of those who embrace endeavors in which Jefferson — author of the Declaration of Independence, third U.S. president and founder of the University of Virginia — excelled and held in high regard,” the University publication noted.

“A renowned and brilliant advocate long before he joined the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts is and will remain one of the most significant jurists of the 21st century,” said UVA School of Law Dean Leslie Kendrick ’06. “As both the presiding officer of the highest court in the land and the head of the entire judicial branch, he tirelessly serves a unique and crucial role within the American legal system. In this 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I am delighted that the Law School will host the chief justice as this year’s recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Law.”

The medals, which will also be awarded to recipients in fields of architecture and citizen leadership, are the highest external honor the University bestows.

The medalists will be honored April 13, Jefferson’s birthday, at a formal dinner at Monticello, and the awards will be distributed the next day in a ceremony in the Rotunda Room.