UB alumna Terry Gross, host and executive producer of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” has been named a recipient of the 2015 National Humanities Medal.

Winners of the award were announced Sept. 13 by President Barack Obama, who will present the awards during a White House ceremony on Sept. 22.

The award honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizen’ engagement with history and literature, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to cultural resources.

Gross is being recognized specifically “for her artful probing of the human experience. Her patient, persistent questioning in thousands of interviews over four decades has pushed public figures to reveal personal motivations behind extraordinary lives — revealing simple truths that affirm our common humanity.”

In addition to Gross, recipients include author Rudolfo Anaya, chef José Andrés, author Ron Chernow, poet Louise Glück, author James McBride, composer and musician Wynton Marsalis, author Louis Menand, historian and author Elaine Pagels, physician and author Abraham Verghese, journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson and the Prison University Project, Higher Education Program, San Quentin, California.

Gross began her radio career at UB’s WBFO public radio station in 1973, hosting and producing several arts, women’s and public affairs programs, including “This Is Radio,” a live, three-hour magazine program that aired daily.

Two years later, she joined the staff of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia as producer and host of “Fresh Air,” then a local, daily interview and music program. In 1985, WHYY-FM launched a weekly half-hour edition of “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” which was distributed nationally by NPR.

WHYY-FM has produced daily, one-hour national edition of “Fresh Air” since 1987.

The program is broadcast on 566 stations and became the first non-drive time show in public radio history to reach more than 5 million listeners each week in fall 2008, a presidential election season.

“Fresh Air with Terry Gross” has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Peabody Award in 1994.

Gross earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1972 and master’s degree in communication in 1975, both from UB. She received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993, as well as a SUNY honorary degree in 2007.