Dallas Philanthropist Receives Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree for Contributions to the University Philanthropist Ethel Gruen was honored at a special March 19 reception at the Dallas home of Ruthy and Steven Rosenberg.

From left to right: Ruthy and Steven Rosenberg, Dr. Herbert C. Dobrinsky, Ethel Gruen and YU President Richard M. Joel

A Yeshiva University Benefactor, Gruen received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from YU President Richard M. Joel in recognition of her contributions to the University. Her late husband, Ronald, received an honorary degree from Yeshiva at a 2004 Dallas convocation. “Tonight, we again celebrate the ways in which the Yeshiva University and Gruen legacies have intertwined,” said President Joel. “Your contributions as Yeshiva University Benefactors, primarily through the Ronald and Ethel Gruen Endowed Fund for the Advancement of Secondary Jewish Education, and more recently toward our high schools, have ensured that more young men and women emerge better prepared to fulfill their Torah-informed mandate to matter in the world.” Over the years, Gruen has been actively involved in various local philanthropic ventures, including the women’s division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas, Akiba Academy of Dallas, Hadassah, Pioneer Women, Chabad of Dallas, and B’nai B’rith. “Ethel, you have busied yourself with the sacred work of the Jewish people. As a true aristocrat of the spirit, you comport yourself not with a crown on your head, but with nobility in your heart,” said President Joel.