Queen Noor of Jordan and Eakes GS ’80 win top alumni awards

Queen Noor of Jordan — formerly Lisa Halaby ’73 — has been named the Woodrow Wilson Award winner, and Martin Eakes GS ’80, who earned a Masters in Public Affairs from the Wilson School, is the 2015 James Madison Medal winner. Queen Noor and Eakes will receive their awards and deliver addresses on campus on Feb. 21 during Alumni Day.

Queen Noor, who graduated with an A.B. in Architecture & Urban Planning, works on issues such as refugees, missing persons, poverty, climate change and disarmament. She founded the King Hussein Foundation in 1999, using it to pioneer programs in education, eradication of poverty, women’s empowerment, microfinance, health and arts. She is also an adviser and global advocate for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and a founding leader of Global Zero, an international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons. She has written two books, “Hussein of Jordan” and “Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life,” the latter of which is a New York Times bestseller published in 17 languages.

Queen Noor worked on urban planning and design projects in Australia, Iran, the United States and Jordan after graduating. She became Queen Noor of Jordan after marrying King Hussein bin Talal of Jordan in 1978.

Queen Noor could not be reached for comment.

After earning a master’s degree from the Wilson School, Eakes cofounded the nonprofit center Self-Help, a credit union and community development leader based in Durham, N.C., for which Eakes acts as chief executive officer. Self-Help has provided $6.4 billion of financing for over 87,000 homebuyers, small businesses and nonprofits.

Eakes helped establish the Coalition for Responsible Lending in 1998. The coalition is comprised of the CEOs of 120 financial organizations, representing 3 million North Carolina residents. The coalition works to protect homeownership and family wealth by fighting predatory lending practices.

He received a bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy at Davidson College in 1976 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1980.

Eakes did not respond to a request for comment.

According to the Alumni Association of Princeton University’s website, the Woodrow Wilson Award is awarded annually to an undergraduate alumnus or alumna whose achievements best demonstrate the University’s unofficial motto of “Princeton in the Nation’s Service.” The selection committee for the award is composed of the Chair of the Alumni Council Nancy Newman ’78, University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee ’69 and dean of the Wilson School Cecelia Rouse.

Rouse declined to comment.

The James Madison Medal is named for James Madison, Class of 1771, the University’s first graduate alumnus, and was established in 1973 by the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni. The medal is awarded annually to an alumna or alumnus of the Graduate School who has had a distinguished career, advanced the cause of graduate education or achieved a record of outstanding public service.