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The Thomas Cooper Medal for Distinction in the Arts and Sciences is a lifetime achievement award presented to distinguished writers and scholars by the Thomas Cooper Society, a library support organization at the University of South Carolina. The medal and the society, like the university's main library building, are named for the British-born scientist, economist, and political philosopher Dr. Thomas Cooper, [|Thomas Cooper], (1759-1839),second president of South Carolina College, the university's predecessor institution.

History and Selection Process The medal was inaugurated in 1995, as an award "For Distinction in the Arts and Sciences." Since then, it has been presented chiefly to creative writers with national and international reputations, but also to some with institutional or personal ties to the university and library. Medalists are nominated by a special committee of the society and elected by the society's board of directors. In most cases the honorees have visited the campus to accept the medal, which is usually accompanied by a cash award. The visit has also often involved a speech or reading for the society or the wider community, and an exhibition at the library of the honoree's writings. In several instances, the library's special collections houses a major collection of the honoree's works or even the main literary archive, but there is no formal connection between such collections and the medal program.

The Medal The Thomas Cooper Medal was designed by **** and carries a relief portrait of Thomas Cooper on the obverse, with the recipient's name, primary field of accomplishment, and the date of award on the reverse. Made of bronze, it measures approx. *** in diameter, and ** in thickness, and weighs approx. *** oz.

List of Thomas Cooper Medal Recipients {| class="wikitable" ! Year of Award !! Name !! Notes
 * 1995 || Pat Conroy[|Pat_Conroy] || Novelist. Conroy was awarded the medal in 1995, before an actual medal had been minted, necessitating a second presentation once the medal was available. His literary archive came to the University in 2015, after his death.
 * 1996 || Joseph Heller [|Joseph_Heller]|| Novelist. Heller's speech to the Thomas Cooper Society dinner during the F. Scott Fitzgerald Centenary celebrations is reprised in his novel Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man [|Portrait_of_an_Artist,_as_an_Old_Man](2000); Heller's main literary archive came to the library in 1998.
 * 1997 || James Dickey[|James_Dickey] || Poet, novelist, National Book Award winner, poetry consultant to the Library of Congress[], and professor at the University of South Carolina, 1969-1997. Dickey died before receiving the medal, which was presented to his son Christopher [] at the memorial service. While Dickey's literary archives went elsewhere, his huge personal library came to the University in 1997, after his death.
 * 1998 || John Updike [|John_Updike]|| Novelist, essayist, poet, Pulitzer prizewinner, and National Book Award winner. Updike's speech at the University, on literary biography, was subsequently published in the New York Review of Books, as well as in a limited edition by the University of South Carolina Press. During his visit, a major exhibition of Updike's writings was mounted from the collection of Donald J. Greiner, and the collection was subsequently donated to the University library.
 * 1999 || Matthew J. Bruccoli []|| Biographer and professor at the University of South Carolina, 1969-2005. The bulk of Bruccoli's F. Scott Fitzgerald collection had been acquired by the library in 1994, and he continued to be actively involved as an honorary curator. Bruccoli had also served as the second president of the Thomas Cooper Society, 1992-1993.
 * 2000 || William Styron []|| Novelist and essayist, National Book Award winner, 1980.
 * 2001 || Ray Bradbury []|| Novelist; winner of the National Medal for the Arts and a special citation from the Pulitzer Foundation.
 * 2002 || George Plimpton []|| Editor, critic, and participatory journalist.
 * 2003 || John Jakes John_Jakes|| Novelist; author of the bestselling Kent Family Chronicles and North and South. Mr Jakes donated his literary and professional archives to the University library, beginning in 1991.
 * 2004 || Derek Walcott []|| Poet, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Queen's Medal in Poetry, a MacArthur Foundation genius award [], etc.
 * 2005 || Joyce Carol Oates []|| Novelist, and winner of the National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal, etc.
 * 2006 || Edward Albee [] || Playwright and Pultizer prizewinner.
 * 2007 || Norman Mailer Norman_Mailer|| Novelist, and Pulitzer prizewinner for both Fiction and Non-fiction. Mr Mailer died before receiving the medal, which was later presented to his widow.
 * 2008 || Janette Turner Hospital [] || Novelist, and professor at the University, 1999-2010.
 * 2011 || Larry McMurtry [] || Novelist, and Pultizer prizewinner; winner of multiple Academy Awards and Emmys.
 * 2012 || W.S.Merwin [] || Poet and ecologist; Pulitzer prize winner, National Book Award winner, and Poet Laureate of the United States[].
 * 2013 || Elmore Leonard || Novelist. Leonard's literary archive came to the University after his death.
 * 2014 || Billy Collins []|| Poet, and U.S. Poet Laureate[].
 * 2015 || Doris Kearns Goodwin [] || Historian, and Pulitzer prize winner.
 * 2016 || Henry Louis Gates []|| Literary scholar, historian, and MacArthur Fellow[].
 * 2016 || Anita Lobel [] || Illustrator and author of children's books; Caldecott Medal and National Book Award finalist. Lobel's archive came to the University in 2016.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.
 * 2006 || Edward Albee [] || Playwright and Pultizer prizewinner.
 * 2007 || Norman Mailer Norman_Mailer|| Novelist, and Pulitzer prizewinner for both Fiction and Non-fiction. Mr Mailer died before receiving the medal, which was later presented to his widow.
 * 2008 || Janette Turner Hospital [] || Novelist, and professor at the University, 1999-2010.
 * 2011 || Larry McMurtry [] || Novelist, and Pultizer prizewinner; winner of multiple Academy Awards and Emmys.
 * 2012 || W.S.Merwin [] || Poet and ecologist; Pulitzer prize winner, National Book Award winner, and Poet Laureate of the United States[].
 * 2013 || Elmore Leonard || Novelist. Leonard's literary archive came to the University after his death.
 * 2014 || Billy Collins []|| Poet, and U.S. Poet Laureate[].
 * 2015 || Doris Kearns Goodwin [] || Historian, and Pulitzer prize winner.
 * 2016 || Henry Louis Gates []|| Literary scholar, historian, and MacArthur Fellow[].
 * 2016 || Anita Lobel [] || Illustrator and author of children's books; Caldecott Medal and National Book Award finalist. Lobel's archive came to the University in 2016.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.
 * 2013 || Elmore Leonard || Novelist. Leonard's literary archive came to the University after his death.
 * 2014 || Billy Collins []|| Poet, and U.S. Poet Laureate[].
 * 2015 || Doris Kearns Goodwin [] || Historian, and Pulitzer prize winner.
 * 2016 || Henry Louis Gates []|| Literary scholar, historian, and MacArthur Fellow[].
 * 2016 || Anita Lobel [] || Illustrator and author of children's books; Caldecott Medal and National Book Award finalist. Lobel's archive came to the University in 2016.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.
 * 2016 || Henry Louis Gates []|| Literary scholar, historian, and MacArthur Fellow[].
 * 2016 || Anita Lobel [] || Illustrator and author of children's books; Caldecott Medal and National Book Award finalist. Lobel's archive came to the University in 2016.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.
 * 2017 || Ron Rash []|| Novelist, short story writer, and poet; O'Henry prize winner and Frank O'Connor Award. Rash's literary archive came to the University in 2017.