WASHINGTON — CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has been named American University’s “Wonk of the Year.”

The university created the award last year to honor what it calls “someone smart, passionate, focus and engaged, who uses their knowledge and influence to create meaningful change.” The inaugural winner was former president Bill Clinton.

The university’s Kennedy Political Union presented Cooper with the award on Saturday night. The group’s student director, Chandler Thornton, says Cooper “is a true innovator in the world of broadcast journalism.”

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