Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Laws
College of Education and Human Development, May 10, 2007
Gerald B. Bubis, the Alfred Gottschalk Professor Emeritus of Jewish Communal Studies, is recognized as a leader in synthesizing the Jewish cultural ethos of communal service with rigorous academic standards for social services education. He is a native of Minneapolis and a graduate of the University of Minnesota, receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology and philosophy and a master’s degree in social work. Throughout his career, he has shared his knowledge and experience with groups across the United States and the world. He is the founding director of the Irwin Daniels School of Jewish Communal Service at the Los Angeles School of Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. There he worked to synthesize Jewish values with secular social work training to develop curricula, which have been widely adopted to train the generations of communal workers that have emerged over the past 30 years. He was the champion of the Peace Now movement, and in 2003 Americans for Peace Now awarded him its Yitzhak Rabin Peace Award for lifetime achievement in working for peace. He has written extensively on organizational governance and has been a trainer, lecturer, and consultant for national and international organizations in more than 125 communities throughout the world. He is the author of several books and more than 150 articles. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including being named by the University of Minnesota College of Human Ecology as one of the 100 most influential leaders of the century.
Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.