Former Bergen County Executive William Pat
Schuber is Recipient of Wallenberg Humanitarian Award
(Mahwah) -The Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey will present William Pat" Schuber with the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership Award Thursday, May 8 at a dinner at the Hilton Woodcliff Lake. Dr. Leonard A. Cole, president of the UJA Federation of Bergen County and North Hudson, will bestow the award.
The Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Leadership Award is presented to individuals who have displayed outstanding leadership in advancing Holocaust studies and interfaith understanding. Previous recipients include New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former Ramapo College President Robert A. Scott (now president of Adelphi University), New Jersey State Board of Education President Maud Dahme and, most recently, Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham H. Foxman.
The award is named after the Swedish diplomat who became a legend through his extraordinary efforts to save Jews in Budapest from destruction at the height of the Holocaust. He is best known for his role in issuing protective passports" to some 7000 of the Hungarian capital's Jews in danger of deportation. As notable was his establishment of 31 protected houses, which together formed the international ghetto" and provided refuge for nearly 35,000 Jews.
William Pat" Schuber is a senior lecturer with the New College of Fairleigh Dickinson University, teaching full-time in the Master of Administrative Science (M.A.S) and the Bachelor of Arts in Individualized Studies (BA.I.S) programs. He is a former three-term county executive of Bergen County. After assuming the top elected post in 1991, he helped transform county government, making it more efficient and more responsive to the needs of the county's 900,000 residents. In meeting the needs of a diverse constituency, he earned the support of organized labor and environmentalists. He has been a consistent advocate of Holocaust education. In 2000, he was a participant in the annual study tour of the New Jersey State Commission on Holocaust Education and spearheaded an initiative to enhance the effectiveness of Holocaust and genocide education in Bergen County. In a variety of ways, some public and some quiet, Schuber has worked tirelessly to improve relations among the various religious, racial and ethnic groups that comprise the highly diverse environment of northern New Jersey.
Prior to winning election as Bergen County executive, Schuber served in the New Jersey Legislature where he authored the landmark Watershed Preservation Act
that was signed into law by then Gov. Thomas Kean.
Dr. Leonard A. Cole is president of UJA Federation of Bergen County and
North Hudson and has long been involved in Jewish community relations. He is immediate past chairman of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) and is a past chairman of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Northern New Jersey. In addition to his community service, Cole is a recognized authority in the area of science and public policy, with special expertise in policy concerning biological and chemical warfare, radon, and various health issues. He is the author of several books on the subject, including Clouds of Secrecy: The Army's Germ Warfare Tests Over Populated Areas, Element of Risk: The Politics of Radon, and Politics and the Restraint of Science. Currently he holds positions as adjunct professor of political science and faculty associate in the Program of Science, Technology, and Society at Rutgers University in Newark.
The evening will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. There is a charge for tickets. For more information, please call (201) 684-7409.
An integral part of Ramapo College, the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies was founded in 1980 as an independent non-profit organization. It encourages and assists persons of all ages in learning the history and lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides in the hope that through education such tragedies can be prevented from occurring again.
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