“The National Institute of Social Sciences serves as a crucial convener of the best and brightest minds in America,” declared Honoree Jennifer J. Raab at the 108th Annual Gold Medal Gala on Tuesday, December 6th, when the storied not-for-profit added Neil deGrasse Tyson, Philip J. Landrigan and Jennifer J. Raab to the long list of international citizens and educators recognized for their outstanding contributions to society.
Over dinner in the sparkling Ballroom of the Metropolitan Club, NISS President Fred Larsen moderated a lively panel discussion with Tyson, Raab and Landrigan, eliciting laughter and applause from the captivated audience. The evening also recognized PhD candidate Betsy Priem, one of 2022’s five grant recipients to attend.
Guests included Noel Lateef, Larry and Klara Silverstein, Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman, Harold Holzer, Valerie Paley, Heidi and Allen Roberts, Daisy Williams, Claudia Maree Mailer, Melissa Samide, Anthea Butler, Jim Grossman, Edward Liebow, Jennie Kassanoff, Pierre and Jenny du Pont, Barbara Tober, Karen Burke Goulandris, Ken and Barbara Jackson, Jonathan and Madelaine Piel, Suzanne and Robert Farrell, John Swing, Kathleen Maher, Dianne and Mark Melodia, Lauren and Neil Moriarty, Gracey Stoddard, Victoria Tomkins, James Curtis and Jason Colin, Lev Sviridov, Catherine Shraga, Karen Wagner, Win and Mary Rutherfurd, Gregory Peterson, Tommi Salmela, Yuval and Elina Greenblatt, Joshua Graham Lynn and Lindsay Lynn, and Brian Linnane. Gala chairs for the evening were Michelle and Fred Larsen, and Angela and Rod Hickey.
“The NISS Gold Medal has been described as a Nobel Prize for the social sciences,” explained President Larsen. Previous honorees, which include four U.S. presidents and 16 Nobel Prize winners, include individuals who have made outstanding achievements in the social sciences, law, government, education, philanthropy, the arts, medicine, science, and industry. They include Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Madeleine Albright, Sandra Day O’Connor, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Daniel Kahneman, Kofi A. Annan, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, Fulton Sheen, Paul Krugman, Darren Walker, J. Pierpont Morgan, Helen Keller, and Marie Curie, to name a few.
Under the tutelage of President Larsen, the institute continues to increase the scope of its support of PhD candidates and bring awareness of the advances in the social sciences into public attention. Established in 1912 and chartered as a not-for-profit by Congress, the National Institute of Social Sciences is an honorary society of Americans dedicated by service and philanthropy to the public good and joined together to recognize and celebrate those who have achieved at the highest level. In addition to presenting its Gold Medals each year, the National Institute awards grants to PhD candidates in the social sciences and holds public symposia on critical societal issues.
For more information visit: www.socialsciencesinstitute.org.
Photographs by Jill Nelson/AnnieWatt.com
