2024 Honorary Doctorate Recipients

The Hon. Rosalie Silberman Abella, Canada

Rosalie Silberman Abella served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 2004 to her retirement in 2021. She was initially called to the Ontario Bar in 1972 where she practiced civil and criminal litigation until 1976, when she was appointed to the Ontario Family Court, and later to the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1992. Abella was the sole Commissioner of the 1984 federal Royal Commission on Equality in Employment and created the term and concept of “employment equity.” She is an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society and holds 41 honorary degrees. Abella earned her BA and LLB at the University of Toronto, alongside a diploma in classical piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She was born in a displaced person’s camp in Germany and emigrated to Canada as a refugee with her family in 1950.

Mr. Shlomo Artzi, Israel

Shlomo Artzi is a prominent Israeli singer and songwriter whose music fuses rock with native Hebrew strains. Born in 1949 in Alonei Abba in the Galilee region, his music career was launched in the late 1960s as a soloist in the Israel Navy Troupe. He went on to appear in Israel folk festivals, winning first place three times in five years. In 1978, he received critical acclaim for his album, Gever Holech Leibud (“A Man Losing His Way”), which reflected a new and more personal musical style, with many subsequent releases following in quick succession. Artzi has sold more albums than any Israeli singer, and his sell-out performances, which tend to top three hours, are immensely popular. His repertoire includes over 400 songs and 28 albums. Among many accolades, he is the recipient of the Akum Life’s Work Prize in 2009, the Emmy Life’s Work Prize in 2021 and the 2023 Israel Prize, which he declined due to the civil unrest in Israel resulting from the judicial reform process.

Prof. Lucian A. Bebchuk, USA

Lucian Bebchuk is the James Barr Ames Professor of Law, Economics and Finance, and Director of the Program on Corporate Governance, both at Harvard Law School. Trained in both law and economics, he holds graduate degrees in both disciplines from Harvard University. Bebchuk is a frequent contributor to scholarship, policymaking and public debate in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. He has appeared in hearings and roundtables before the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Banking Committee and the House of Representatives Committee of Financial Services and has advised the Israeli government. He has published over 100 academic papers and numerous op-ed pieces, including in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and the Financial Times. A recipient of diverse accolades, Bebchuk is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, among diverse other roles.

Dr. Anita Friedman, USA