The Thomas A. Dooley Award honors individuals who, through their faith-based background, have demonstrated personal courage, compassion and committment to advance the human and civial rights of lesbian and gay Americans. The award is named for the gay, former Notre Dame student who achieved world fame in the 1950s for his humanitarian activities while serving in the Navy in Southeast Asia, and even greater fame when he continued his humanitarian work as an American "jungle doctor" in Laos subsequent to his undesirable discharge from the Navy for participating in homosexual activities.