Dec 13, 2004 -- Yeshiva University honored four of its extraordinary communal leaders and philanthropists and Dominick P. Purpura, MD, the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, at the university’s 80th Annual Hanukkah Dinner and Convocation on Sunday, Dec. 12, at The Waldorf=Astoria. YU President Richard M. Joel conferred honorary degrees upon the four communal leaders—Hyman Arbesfeld, Muriel Block, Ronald Gruen, and Dinah Pinczower—and presented the Presidential Medallion to Dean Purpura. The dean’s leadership, he said, “positioned Einstein College to grow as a premier medical school in the US.” HANUKKAH DINNER PHOTO GALLERY A world-renowned neuroscientist and the longest-serving dean of any medical school in the country, Dean Purpura has led Einstein since 1984 and holds the additional title of vice president for medical affairs at YU. In accepting the medallion, Dean Purpura recalled Einstein’s origins as a medical school that would “breach the barriers of bias.” Established as a college where Jewish students were given equal access to medical education, AECOM “attracted scores of young men and women who saw it as an embodiment of high academic standards,” he said. “Our research labs are crucibles of creativity. We will labor long to continue our contribution to the study of the human genome.” As a board member of YU’s Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) for the past 20 years, Rabbi Hyman Arbesfeld has helped make the seminary the vibrant center of Torah scholarship and rabbinic training that it is today. Rabbi Arbesfeld graduated from Yeshiva University High School for Boys in 1949, earned a BA degree from Yeshiva College in 1953, and was ordained by RIETS in 1956. Muriel Block, owner of Gray Block Realty, is a member of both the board of directors of the National Women’s Division of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Executive Board of its New York chapter. Ms. Block’s gift of real estate to Einstein, valued at more than $21 million and the second largest in Einstein’s history, is being used to expand research and education facilities through the construction of The Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion. Ronald Gruen, one of the Dallas community’s most prominent Jewish leaders, continues to have a tremendous impact on various projects. Mr. Gruen and his wife, Ethel, are YU Benefactors and partners in an innovative program to expand and enhance learning among Jewish students nationwide. Dinah Pinczower has been dedicated to furthering the work of Yeshiva University Women’s Organization (YUWO) for more than two decades. Through her inspiring leadership and tireless devotion, YUWO has raised millions of dollars for scholarships, academic facilities, stipends for needy students, and other important projects. Almost 700 guests joined in the festivities at the dinner in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom. The evening’s program included a video capturing YU’s mission of service to humanity, and a ceremonial lighting of the menorah by 12 faculty, students, and alumni singled out for their academic and community-service contributions to YU and society at large. The event, which raised $1.6 million for the university, also marked the installation of the chairman of YU’s board of trustees, Morry J. Weiss.