2008 Woodie Awards
Four Honorary Degrees to Share Stage with Graduates
John Portnow
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: News
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Alongside hundreds of students from Yeshiva's three undergraduate schools, four prominent individuals will receive honorary degrees at this year's 74th annual Commencement Exercises on May 26, 2005 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
This year's recipients are Leon H. Charney, Linda M. Hooper, Barry Shrage and Jeffrey B. Swartz.
Leon Charney, a Yeshiva College and Brooklyn Law School graduate, will be receiving a Doctorate of Laws. Mr. Charney began his career by creating and operating a sports and entertainment law firm. His intellectual and creative talents enabled him to enter investment banking, and then public affairs. In this last arena, among other significant endeavors, Mr. Charney was a advisor to Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana, and assisted Golda Meir in fighting for the cause of Soviet Jewish dissidents. He has also worked as an advisor for former United States President Jimmy Carter at the Camp David Accords. For the past thirteen years Mr. Charney has hosted the award winning Leon Charney Report, a nationally syndicated public affairs television program.
Linda Hooper, who will be receiving a Doctorate of Humane Letters, has been involved with public school education for over thirty years. She is currently the principal of Whitwell Middle School in Tennessee. Ms. Hooper, in cooperation with the parents in Whitwell, worked to foster an understanding of the Holocaust among her students. In 1998, Ms. Whitwell decided that her students, almost all of whom are Caucasian and Protestant, needed to be educated about other races. She decided to begin the educational process with a voluntary once a week program for eighth graders, in which they would learn about other nationalities and peoples. The students began the program by learning about the Holocaust, but most students could not comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy. In order to better understand the magnitude of the Holocaust, the students collected six million paper clips. The project served as the impetus for the Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, which Ms. Hooper also established. The enthusiasm generated by the project led to the production of a major motion picture, Paper Clips, which has been released in the United States and abroad and has received critical acclaim.
This year's recipients are Leon H. Charney, Linda M. Hooper, Barry Shrage and Jeffrey B. Swartz.
Leon Charney, a Yeshiva College and Brooklyn Law School graduate, will be receiving a Doctorate of Laws. Mr. Charney began his career by creating and operating a sports and entertainment law firm. His intellectual and creative talents enabled him to enter investment banking, and then public affairs. In this last arena, among other significant endeavors, Mr. Charney was a advisor to Senator Vance Hartke of Indiana, and assisted Golda Meir in fighting for the cause of Soviet Jewish dissidents. He has also worked as an advisor for former United States President Jimmy Carter at the Camp David Accords. For the past thirteen years Mr. Charney has hosted the award winning Leon Charney Report, a nationally syndicated public affairs television program.
Linda Hooper, who will be receiving a Doctorate of Humane Letters, has been involved with public school education for over thirty years. She is currently the principal of Whitwell Middle School in Tennessee. Ms. Hooper, in cooperation with the parents in Whitwell, worked to foster an understanding of the Holocaust among her students. In 1998, Ms. Whitwell decided that her students, almost all of whom are Caucasian and Protestant, needed to be educated about other races. She decided to begin the educational process with a voluntary once a week program for eighth graders, in which they would learn about other nationalities and peoples. The students began the program by learning about the Holocaust, but most students could not comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy. In order to better understand the magnitude of the Holocaust, the students collected six million paper clips. The project served as the impetus for the Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, which Ms. Hooper also established. The enthusiasm generated by the project led to the production of a major motion picture, Paper Clips, which has been released in the United States and abroad and has received critical acclaim.