Annenberg established the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. In 1993, he donated a 100 million dollar check to The Peddie School, the largest donation ever to a school when accounting for inflation. He became a champion of public television, receiving many awards, including the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1985, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan in 1986, the Linus Pauling Medal for Humanitarianism, the 1988 Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service, was made a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great in 1998, and was named an Officer of the French Legion of Honor.