Founders’ Day Ceremonies at
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Honor Alumni for 25 Years of Service
as Rabbis, Cantors, Educators, and Communal Service Professionals

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) will award honorary degrees to rabbinical, cantorial, education, and communal service alumni in honor of their years of dedicated service at Founders’ Day Ceremonies at HUC-JIR’s Schools in Cincinnati (March 14), New York (March 21), and Los Angeles (May 17).

The annual Founders’ Day convocation celebrates the vision of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, founder of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1875, and of Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, founder of the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York in 1922. Inspired by their legacy, the College-Institute’s academic programs, faculty, and students are committed to fulfilling their mission of a Judaism responsive to modernity. The College-Institute honors distinguished alumni for devoted years of service as preservers and teachers of Judaism – its faith, its culture, and its communal ethics. These alumni help ensure the continuity of Jewish heritage, scholarship, and spirituality.

Hundreds of alumni, students, and members of HUC-JIR’s faculty and administration, as well as families and friends attend each Founders’ Day to pay tribute to the honorees. Dr. Michael A. Meyer, the Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Jewish History at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, will present the keynote address in Cincinnati; Dr. Norman Cohen, HUC-JIR Provost and Professor of Midrash at HUC-JIR/New York will present the keynote address in New York; and Dr. Gary P. Zola, Executive Director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of American Jewish Archives at HUC-JIR/Cincinnati, will present the keynote address at the Los Angeles Founders’ Day Kallah on March 23rd while the keynote speaker for the convocation on May 17 in Los Angeles has yet to be determined.

The following HUC-JIR alumni will receive honorary degrees:

Cincinnati, March 14, 2004
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
3101 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati

Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa
Rabbi Gershon Blackmore, Congregation Ner Shalom, Woodbridge, VA
Rabbi Bruce Stanley Diamond, Temple Beth-El, Fort Myers, FL
Rabbi Garson Herzfeld, Beth El Congregation, Winchester, VA
Rabbi Yossi J. Liebowitz, Congregation B’nai Israel, Spartanburg, SC
Rabbi Ben Alan Romer, Temple of Israel, Wilmington, NC
Rabbi James L. Sagarin, RJE, Temple B’nai Israel, Kankakee, IL
Rabbi Jeffrey A. Summit, Executive Director, Hillel Foundation at Tufts University, Medford, MA
Rabbi Stuart Gary Weinblatt, Congregation B’nai Tzedek, Potomac, MD
Rabbi David Allen Whiman, North Shore Synagogue, Syosset, NY
Rabbi Irvin Manuel Wise, Adath Israel Congregation, Cincinnati, OH

Doctor of Music, honoris causa
Cantor Merrill Fisher, Akron, OH
Cantor Janice Lowenstein Roger, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, Indianapolis, IN

New York, March 21, 2004
Eisner and Lubin Hall
Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for University Life
New York University
60 Washington Square South, New York, New York

Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa
Rabbi Daniel S Alexander, Congregation Beth Israel, Charlottesville, VA
Rabbi Michal (Mikki) Bourne, Lifecycle Specialist; Community Interfaith and Jewish Projects Developer, San Francisco, CA
Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus, B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom, Homewood, IL
Senior Rabbi Steven M. Fink, Temple Oheb Shalom, Baltimore, MD
Rabbi Daniel Hillel Freelander, Vice President, Union for Reform Judaism, New York, NY
Rabbi James Scott Glazier, Temple Sinai, South Burlington, VT
Rabbi Fred Bougess Guttman, Temple Emanuel, Greensboro, NC
Rabbi Howard Stuart Herman, Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation Emek Shalom, Simsbury, CT
Rabbi Jan Caryl Kaufman, Director of Special Projects, The Rabbinical Assembly, New York, NY
Rabbi Norman David Koch, Temple Sholom, New Milford, CT
Rabbi Anson Hugh Laytner, Executive Director, Multifaith Works, Seattle, WA
Rabbi Beverly W. Magidson, Director of Chaplaincy Services, United Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY, Albany, NY
Rabbi Harry Alan Manhoff, Temple Beth Sholom, San Leandro, CA
Rabbi Seth David Phillips, Lieutenant Commander, Chaplain, United States Navy, Groton, CT
Rabbi Jay H. Rosenbaum, Temple Israel, Lawrence, NY
Rabbi Jeffery Martin Silberman, Director, Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education, Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT
Rabbi Albert Isaac Slomovitz, North Fulton Jewish Center, Alpharetta, GA
Rabbi Bonnie Steinberg, Director of Religious Life, The Jewish Home and Hospital, Bronx, NY
Rabbi Daniel Goldman Zemel, Temple Micah, Washington, DC

Doctor of Music, honoris causa
Cantor Burton A. Borovetz, New York, NY
Cantor Mindy Fliegelman, Temple Beth Ahavat Sholom, Brooklyn, NY
Cantor Daniel Green, Congregation B’nai Israel, Toms River, NJ
Cantor Bernard Daivd Gutcheon, RJE, The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom, Nashville, TN
Cantor Nancy Suzanne Hausman, Nyack, NY
Cantor Mark S. Horowitz, Executive Director, Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Buffalo, Getzville, NY
Cantor Helene Shifrin Reps, Temple Israel of New Rochelle, New Rochelle, NY
Cantor Wayne S. Siet, Temple Shaari Emeth, Manalapan, NJ
Cantor Marshall Elliott Wolkenstein, Temple Israel of the Poconos, Stroudsburg, PA

Doctor of Jewish Religious Education, honoris causa
Naomi Patz, North Caldwell, NJ
Betsy Platkin Teutsch, Philadelphia, PA

Doctor of Jewish Communal Service, honoris causa
Charles R. Schiffman, Executive Vice President, Jewish Federation of Portland, Portland, OR
Jason S. Yoskowitz, Senior Vice President, American Technion Society, New York, NY

Los Angeles, May 17, 2004
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
3077 University Avenue, Los Angeles

Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa
Rabbi Lee Bycel, Tarzana, CA
Rabbi Douglas Kahn, Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council, San Francisco, CA
Rabbi Robert Douglas Levy, Temple Beth Emeth, Ann Arbor, MI
Rabbi Janet Ross Marder, Congregation Beth Am, Los Altos Hills, CA
Rabbi Michael D. Mayersohn, Educator; Consultant, Seal Beach, CA
Rabbi John Leon Rosove, Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA

Doctor of Jewish Religious Education, honoris causa
Barbara Binder Kadden, Regional Educator, UAHC-Pacific Central West Council, Salinas, CA

Doctor of Jewish Communal Service, honoris causa
Edward L. Cushman, Executive Director, Hebrew Free Loan Association, San Francisco, CA
Eugene Lewis DuBow, Consultant, New York, NY
Shoshana Hirsh, Director of Administration, Jewish Student Union, Los Angeles, CA
Gene Barry Kaufman, Executive Director, Sinai Memorial Chapel, San Francisco, CA
Robin Estelle Moss, Clinical Director, Jewish Family Services, Seattle, WA
Richard H. Meyer, Executive Vice President, Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Inc., Milwaukee, WI
Paula Simon, Executive Director, Milwaukee Jewish Council for Community Relations, Milwaukee, WI
Linda Singer-Berk, Assistant Executive Director, Jewish Community Center of RI, Providence, RI
Marcia Cohn Spiegel, Writer; Lecturer, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
Alan Marshal Templer, Fundraiser, Northridge, CA
Lois Nagy Weinsaft, Vice President, International Planning, Jewish Federation of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

*Honorary degrees in Los Angeles are awarded at a special ceremony on Graduation Day on May 17.