2008 Honorary Doctorate Recipients
Eli Amir
Well-loved author, social commentator and public figure, Eli Amir came to Israel from Iraq as a teenager in 1950. He gained his degree in Arabic Language and Literature and Middle Eastern History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. An outspoken writer whose novels movingly describe the immigrant experience, Amir is studied by tens of thousands of high school students every year. He has served in a range of public roles relating to immigration, absorption and education, including Director-General of the Jewish Agency’s Youth Aliyah Division and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Arab Affairs in East Jerusalem. Among other honors, Amir received the Yigal Allon Award for his endeavors on behalf of Israeli society, and honorary degrees from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Ben Gurion University.
Santiago Calatrava
The works of architect, artist, sculptor and engineer Dr. Santiago Calatrava can be seen throughout the world. Born in Valencia, ] Spain, Dr. Calatrava earned his architecture degree at the Superior Technical School of Architecture in Valencia, and both his civil engineering degree and technical science PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Among his most notable creations are the Athens Olympic Sports Complex, the expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York which is still under construction. He has received honorary degrees from 14 universities, as well as numerous honors and accolades including the designation by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Lester Crown
Businessman and philanthropist Lester Crown became the President of family business Henry Crown & Co. in 1969, until his son succeeded him in 2002, while he remained Chairman. Crown earned his degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University in 1946 and an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1949. He was formerly President of Marblehead Lime Co., Royal Crown RC Cola and General Dynamics and director of Continental Illinois bank, Trans World Airlines, Maytag, and Esmark. Besides his many career ventures, Crown supports many Jewish and Israeli causes. He served as director for the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Mary-Claire King
Born in Chicago, Prof. Mary-Claire King is one of the world’s leading scientists in the field of human molecular genetics. Since the 1970s, she has worked to identify genes involved in the development of breast cancer. She is presently searching for genes for schizophrenia and, with Israeli and Palestinian colleagues, genes for inherited deafness. Her lab pioneered the use of genetic identification for victims of human rights violations. Prof. King is the American Cancer Society Professor of Genome Sciences and Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees including from Columbia, Harvard and Yale.
Francis Minkoff
Born in Switzerland in 1944, businessman, philanthropist and TAU Governor Francis Minkoff has deep Zionist roots that began when his great-grandfather left Russia for Eretz Israel in 1890. Mr. Minkoff’s father, André, was born in Jaffa and, after moving to Switzerland, supported numerous scientific and social initiatives in Israel. Francis Minkoff has continued the family tradition. He visits Israel regularly, and has become personally involved with the institutions and projects he supports, among them universities, hospitals, WIZO, the IDF, numerous arts and cultural initiatives, and projects in the Negev. He is a central figure in Swiss Jewish community life.
Sruel Prajs
Businessman and philanthropist Sruel Prajs was born in Poland, moved to Germany as a baby, and became a successful real-estate entrepreneur in Germany and Canada. An engaged supporter of Israel since the 1970s, he is particularly active in Keren Hayesod, Germany. During his time as Chairman and as member of the Board of Trustees of Keren Hayesod, Prajs was instrumental in facilitating the construction of a care facility for the elderly in Tel Aviv and the David Ben-Gurion Information Center at Kibbutz Sde Boker, among other major initiatives. Mr. Prajs received the 2002 Yakir Award of Keren Hayesod in the presence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency.
Hilary Putnam
A professor emeritus of philosophy at Harvard University, Hilary Putnam is best-known for his contributions to the philosophy of mind, language and mathematics. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, before embarking on an academic career that took him to UCLA, Northwestern, Princeton, MIT and Harvard. Prof. Putnam is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, and a former President of the American Philosophical Association. He has published over 20 books and hundreds of articles.
Lily Safra
Philanthropist, patron of the arts and advocate for the disadvantaged, Lily Safra shared her commitment to caring for the less fortunate with her husband Edmond, banker and founder of the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation. Since 1999, she has chaired the Foundation, which supports numerous educational, scientific, social and cultural causes. Mrs. Safra was co-founder with her husband and serves as Honorary Chairman of the International Sephardic Education Foundation (ISEF), which has granted over 16,000 scholarships to gifted Israelis from disadvantaged backgrounds since 1977. She supports medical research and has established cutting-edge patient care facilities worldwide. She is a trustee of New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Somerset House Arts Fund in London, and a member of the Chairman’s Council of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). She holds honorary degrees from universities in the US, UK and Israel, and wasnamed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by French President Jacques Chirac, among many other accolades. Mrs. Safra has initiated many major projects in memory of her husband, including the Edmond J. Safra Program for Bioinformatics at Tel Aviv University, established by the Edmond J. Safra Foundation in 2005. The vision of the Edmond J. Safra Program is to preserve and enhance the role of TAU as an international leader in research and education in bioinformatics. It aims to secure TAU’s future as a leading force in the development of novel drugs and biomedical technologies that will improve human health worldwide.
Lea Koenig Stolper
Lea Koenig-Stolper took her first steps toward a stage career as a girl, studying drama at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, Romania. She was a stage performer at the Jewish State Theater in Bucharest and, after making aliyah, she joined the Habima Theater where she has played leading and supporting roles for 45 years. Ms. Koenig-Stolper participates in fringe theater and television productions, promotes Yiddish culture in Israel and devotes time to animal welfare and other social issues. She has received several accolades, among them the Israel Prize, the Israel Theater Life Achievement Prize and the Rosenblum Prize for Theater.
Martin J. Whitman
Investor, philanthropist, civic leader and educator Martin Whitman is the Founder and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Third Avenue Management LLC, one of the most respected investment and consulting firms in the US. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and his Master of Economics from the New School of Social Research. The author of two widely read books on investing, he has served as a Distinguished Management Fellow at the Yale School of Management for over 30 years, and has taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, which was dedicated in his name in 2003. Mr. Whitman and his wife, Lois, focus much of their philanthropy on advancing educational initiatives to enhance equal opportunity.
Elie Wiesel
Novelist, human rights activist, Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor, Prof. Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet, Romania, in 1928. In 1940, he was relocated to a nearby ghetto and eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. After the war, he began studying philosophy at the Sorbonne and later emigrated to the US. He has written over 40 books, most notably Night, which describes his Holocaust experiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 both for speaking out against violence, repression and racism, and for raising awareness of the Holocaust. Wiesel served as chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust and spearheaded the establishment of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. He was instrumental in the struggle to free Soviet Jewry, and maintains close ties with Israel. At Boston University, he teaches religion and Jewish thought, and is the Andrew Mellon Professor of the Humanities.
Heinz Fischer
Born in 1938, Austrian Federal President Dr. Heinz Fischer studied law and political science at the University of Vienna from 1956 onwards, obtaining his Doctor of Law degree in 1961. From 1963 to 1975 Dr. Fischer was secretary, and from 1975 to 1983 executive chairman, of the Socialist (Social Democratic) Group in the Austrian Parliament, and from 1971 to 2004 a Member of the National Council. From 1983 to 1987 he served as Federal Minister of Science and Research. In 1990 Dr. Fischer was elected President of the National Council, to which function he was re-elected three times, holding the office for 12 consecutive years until December 2002, when he was elected Second President of the National Council. He retired from this office in 2004 after being elected Federal President of the Republic of Austria. Between 1992 and 2004 Dr. Fischer also served as Deputy Chairman of the Party of European Socialists (PES). Dr. Fischer has been a member of numerous important bodies such as the National Security Council and the Foreign Affairs Council of Austria. From 1995 to 2002 he was President of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for the Victims of National Socialism. He was Deputy Chairman of the Austrian Convention, long-time President of the Austrian Friends of Nature, and President of the Austrian University Extension Association. In the course of his academic career, Dr. Fischer became Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck in 1978, and was appointed full professor in 1994. He is the author of numerous books and publications in the fields of law and political science. He is also co-editor of the Austrian Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft (Journal of Political Science), the quarterly Journal für Rechtspolitik (Journal of Law Policy) and Europäische Rundschau (European Tour d’horizon). On April 25, 2004, Dr. Heinz Fischer was elected Federal President of the Republic of Austria, and sworn in before the Federal Assembly in the Reichsrat Hall of the Austrian Parliament Building on July 8.
