The Jewish Institute of Religion announces that the degree of Doctor of Hebrew Letters, honoris causa, was conferred upon Professor Richard Gottheil on October 13, in honor of his seventieth birthday.
The degree was conferred in absentia since Professor Gottheil is on sabbatical leave from Columbia University where he has been Professor of Semitic Languages and Literatures for forty-five years. Professor Gottheil is now abroad representing Columbia University at the five hundredth anniversary celebration of Granada University.
Professor Gottheil has been associted with Dr. Stephen S. Wise, founder of the Institute since its beginning, and has been active in its councils.
The award was made to Professor Gottheil in recognition of “A lifetime spent in the furtherance of Jewish and Semitic learning, and in the valiant and unwearied espousal of Jewish causes. Professor Gottheil has for forty-five years served at Columbia University with honor and distinction, in the field of Jewish learning as scholar and teacher. But he has, as much as any Jew in America, stood out with courage and fearless devotion as a representative of Jewish life on the campus of one of the greatest of American universities.”
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