Dr. A. Whitney Griswold, president of Yale University was presented today with the 1954 Stephen Wise Award by the American Jewish Congress at a luncheon at Stephen Wise House here. Dr. Griswold accepted a bronze plaque and a $1, 000 check on behalf of his university, which was honored for its “outstanding contribution in the field of Jewish scholarship and culture through the publication of its Judaica Series.”
Presenting the award to Dr. Griswold, Dr. Goldstein praised Yale University and declared: “Judaism’s concept of learning is not technical knowledge or the piling up of centers of information but a quest of knowledge as a spiritual exercise to elevate the mind, discipline the passions, prepare for the good life hereafter and draw men closer to God. This Hebraic concept of learning has been one of the significant contributions to Western civilization. In some degree the cultivation of the humanities by institutions of higher learning here and abroad has been motivated by similar purpose.”
New York’s Mayor Robert Wagner, another speaker, said: “Dr. Stephen Wise did much to eliminate a basic defect in our democratic practices, namely, to rid our universities of the vestiges of discrimination.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
