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Week of June 30, 2008

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Dr. Marilyn Harran Wins the Spirit of Anne Frank Award

President Doti, Dr. Harran and Natalie
Weinstein Gold stand behind Leon Weinstein.

Dr. Marilyn Harran, Chapman University professor of religion and history, Stern Chair in Holocaust Education, and director of Chapman’s Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education, received the prestigious Spirit of Anne Frank Award in a ceremony on June 12 in New York City. The Anne Frank Awards are granted in five categories: human "writes," distinguished advocate, outstanding scholarship, outstanding student and outstanding educator. Nicholas Kristof, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning reporter at The New York Times, received the human “writes” award and was introduced by actress and human rights activist Mia Farrow. Dr. Harran, a resident of Orange, was the only university educator in the nation to receive the award this year.

Chapman President Jim Doti flew to New York to present the award to her at the ceremony at the Pierre Hotel.

“Receiving the award was a tremendous honor, and the fact that the ceremony was on Anne Frank’s 79th birthday and in New York made it very special,” says Dr. Harran. “But the best part of the evening for me was President Doti’s eloquent introduction when, in addition to introducing me, he introduced 98-year old Leon Weinstein and his daughter Natalie, who traveled all the way from Los Angeles to be there. Leon is one of the few remaining survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and it seemed so fitting that he received the evening’s only standing ovation, which went on and on! Leon was thrilled, and he deserved it.”

Other members of the Chapman community making the trip to cheer on Dr. Harran were Professor Lynne Doti, Rodgers Center supporters Dana and Yossie Hollander; University College Chancellor Gary Brahm; Jessica Cioffi, coordinator of Holocaust education for the Rodgers Center, and Joyce Greenspan, community liaison for the Rodgers Center, and her husband Mike. “Their presence and the effort they made to be there is what I will always remember,” said Dr. Harran. “It was Chapman in New York!”

Dr. Harran is confident that winning this award will help draw attention to Chapman’s program in Holocaust education as it establishes a national and international reputation. When asked what makes the Rogers Center for Holocaust Education stand out among similar centers in the nation, Harran noted the annual art/writing contest for middle- and high-school students that involved some 3,500 students this year, as well as the Holocaust Lecture Series, Holocaust Remembrance Day event, and other programs throughout the year.

The characteristically self-effacing Dr. Harran said, “It’s really our whole Rodgers Center team, especially Jessica Cioffi, who earned this award. And without our generous benefactors and the support of the Chapman administration, especially President Doti, I never would have received the award. We are all working together to do our small part to make the world that Anne Frank envisioned a reality.”

Green Tip of the Week: Composting

Composting isn’t as daunting as it seems. You can sprinkle coffee grounds on your garden or buy countertop composting jars or outside bins. I once used my kids’ sandbox (after they grew out of it, of course.) When organic materials disposed of in the general trash are deprived of the oxygen to assist in their natural decomposition, the organic matter ferments and gives off methane, which is the most potent of the greenhouse gases, twenty-three times more potent than CO2 in global warming terms. By contrast, organic waste properly composted in gardens, produces rich nutrients that adds energy and food to the soil.

Economic Forecast Update Round-Up

Held at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Pacific Ballroom on June 24, the annual Chapman Economic Forecast Update drew a record crowd of more than 750 Orange County business and government leaders. With 31 years of experience presenting economic forecasts, Chapman University President Jim Doti and Esmael Adibi, Ph.D., director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research and A. Gary Anderson Chair of Economic Analysis, confirmed the recession we have all been feeling. The synthesis of the forecast revealed that while the technology sector remains strong in Orange County, the housing market is expected to fall, then flatten out, before it rises again, approximately around late 2009/early 2010. But folks, this is merely the mid-year update; the major event is yet to come. Mark your calendars now: the 2009 Chapman Economic Forecast will be held on Dec. 9.

redarrowright Check out Media Coverage of the Economic Forecast Update

Also in this week's issue of Happenings ...

Staff and Faculty Notes
Doti Dives to Inaugurate Allred Olympic Pool
Art Event Showcases Chapman, Mellon Collections
This week on Dialogue With Doti and Dodge:
"Why I Write," with international best-selling author Salman Rushdie.

« Download a PDF of the June 30, 2008 issue of Happenings »

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