Office of Public Information and Communications Columbia University New York, N.Y. 10027 (212) 854-5573
Fred Knubel, Director of Public Information
For Use Upon Receipt: Wednesday, May 15, 1996
Nine Columbians received the Alumni Federation Medal for service to Columbia
University on commencement day, May 15.
The awards, the highest honor given by the University's alumni, were presented
by Columbia President George Rupp and Alumni Federation President Keville
Frederickson at the Federation's 98th commencement luncheon in the Rotunda
of Low Memorial Library on the University's Morningside Heights campus in
New York City.
Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the
recipient of an honorary doctor of laws degree at commencement exercises,
was the featured speaker.
Dr. Carmen Ortiz-Neu (P&S '63), chair of the Alumni Medal Committee, read
citations for the medalists. Their names and a description of their service
to the University follow.
Katharine Archibald of Stamford, Conn., is Group Program Director
for the American Management Association. A 1983 graduate of the School of
International and Public Affairs, she has served on the Alumni Advisory
Council of the School and as vice president of the SIPA Alumni Association.
She has also served on the Alumni Trustee Nominating Committee and the Federation's
Alumni Council.
Peter A. Basilevsky of Cos Cob, Conn., is an attorney and partner
with Satterlee, Stephens, Burke & Burke in New York City. A 1967 graduate
of Columbia College and a 1972 graduate of Columbia Law School, he is the
immediate past president of the Alumni Federation of Columbia University.
He also held Federation posts of vice president, secretary and chairman
of the Legal Affairs Committee. He is currently a member of the Insurance
and Public Relations Committees of the Federation. A life member of the
Law Alumni Association and member of the College Alumni Association, he
served on the 25th anniversary reunion planning committee for his College
class. He is treasurer of the Columbia University Club of Fairfield County
and a director of the Society of Columbia Graduates.
Lawson F. Bernstein of New York City, is of counsel to the law firm
Hartman & Craven in New York. A 1940 graduate of Columbia College, he was
class president from 1990 to 1995 and has been chair or co-chair of the
class fund since 1978. He also chaired the class's 50th reunion in 1990
and co-chaired its 55th reunion last year. He is a member of the board of
directors of the College Alumni Association and serves on its academic affairs
and admissions committees. He was recently elected secretary of the association.
Edgar M. Housepian of Englewood, N.J., is professor of clinical neurological
surgery at Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons. He is a 1949 graduate
of Columbia College and a 1953 graduate of P&S. He has been active in
the P&S Alumni Association for more than 40 years and has chaired four alumni
committees and served on numerous other committees. He served from 1953
to 1974 as chair of his class for the annual fund drive. He was elected
director of the Alumni Association in 1976. He received the Association's
highest service honor, the silver medal, in 1990. For service to the Armenian
community, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1994 from the
National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, and the Armenian of the Year
Award in 1992 by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.
Sheldon E. Isakoff of Chadds Ford, Pa., is retired director of engineering
research and development for E.I. duPont de Nemours. He is a graduate of
Columbia College and the School of Engineering and Applied Science and received
a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University. From the mid 1960s
to the late 1980s he headed an alumni committee that helped the College
admissions office identify, interview and recruit promising candidates from
Delaware. He has served on the Engineering Advisory Council since 1975.
He headed class committees for his 45th and 50th alumni reunions. In 1991,
he initiated "Columbia Chemical Engineering Concentrates," an
annual newsletter for all chemical engineering alumni, and serves as its
editor. He received the Engineering School's Thomas Egleston Medal for Distinguished
Engineering Achievement in 1994 and is a member of the Thomas Egleston Associates.
Carol Murray Lane of East Setauket, N.Y., is senior head search consultant
for Independent Educational Services of Princeton, N.J. She is a 1960 graduate
of Barnard College and received the M.A. from Teachers College in 1963.
She has long been active in the Alumnae Association of Barnard College,
serving four terms on its Board of Directors, and has chaired her 10th Reunion
Committee and co-chaired her 20th. She is currently president of the Associate
Alumnae of Barnard College. She is a member of Barnard's Board of Trustees,
where she has served on the Presidential Search Committee and the Campaign
Planning Committee.
Ronald H. Lauterstein of Pickering, Ontario, is chair of Comcare,
Ltd. of Toronto, provider of nursing and rehabilitation home health care.
He is a 1958 graduate of the Health Administration program of the School
of Public Health. A dedicated alumnus since his graduation, he organized
in 1970 the 25th anniversary celebration of the Health Administration program
and has served on the executive board of the School of Public Health Alumni
Association for 10 years. He is a member of the Steering Committee for the
School's 75th anniversary celebration, which will be held in 1997. He received
the School's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1992 and the Dean's Distinguished
Service Award in 1994. He recently established the Doris A. Nickerson Scholarship
Fund in memory of his late wife, a nurse, to be awarded to a Canadian health
care practitioner attending the School, and is creating a fund in memory
of his late parents.
Marylin B. Levitt of Washington, D.C., a specialist on mental health
issues, is adjunct professor at George Washington University Medical School
and assistant professor of research in psychiatry at New York University
Medical Center, Milhauser Laboratories. She received master's and doctoral
degrees from Columbia's School of Social Work in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
She has been a Columbia University Trustee since 1986. Active in planning
for the School of Social Work's centennial celebration in 1998, which also
will mark the centennial of social work as a profession, she is a co-chair
of the Centennial Honorary Committee. A consultant to Tipper Gore on mental
health issues, Dr. Levitt recently moderated a White House panel on current
health issues for 100 foundation directors.
Alan J. Preis of Short Hills, N.J., is a certified public accountant.
He is a 1964 graduate of Columbia College. An active member of the Columbia
University Club of Northern New Jersey since its inception in 1980, he has
served on its executive committee since 1983, as treasurer from 1989 to
1995 and as vice president since 1985. He has been a member of the Columbia
College Alumni Representative Committee for Northern New Jersey for 18 years
and chair for 10 years, extending the committee's involvement and influence
among public and private high schools in the area. He has spearheaded an
active Columbia book awards program in the area, intensified Columbia participation
in College Nights, and organized orientation events for incoming first-year
students and their families.
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