Sondra and Morey Myers Fellowship Established
The University of Scranton established The Sondra H’87 and Morey Myers H’12 Distinguished Fellowship in the Humanities and Civic Engagement. At the formal announcement are members of the Myers family, from left: Sam Myers, grandson of Sondra and Morey Myers; Sondra Myers and Morey Myers; their daughter-in law, Nomi Stolzenberg, and their son, David N. Myers, Ph.D.The University of Scranton established The Sondra H’87 and Morey Myers H’12 Distinguished Visiting Fellowship in the Humanities and Civic Engagement, which was formally announced at a two-day event on campus Oct. 24 and 25. Tributes to the Myers were presented by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., Lonnie Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian, and Rev. William J. Byron, S.J, the 21st president of The University of Scranton, among others.
The fellowship will “help to enrich the community and elevate the type of serious thinking and reflection that Sondra and Morey constantly demonstrate,” said Gov. Wolf in a video tribute.
The fellowship will be housed in the University’s Slattery Center for the Humanities and will help to advance the University’s efforts to bring renowned scholars, artists, and thinkers to Scranton to share their work and enrich cultural and civic activity at The University and in Scranton. It honors Sondra and Morey Myers, J.D., who through their generous support and tireless work, have encouraged civic engagement and cultural excellence for the betterment of the University, the city of Scranton, and the country.
University of Scranton philosophy professor Matthew Meyer, Ph.D., and the Myers’ son, David N. Myers, Ph.D., Sady and Ludwig Kahn Professor of Jewish History, UCLA, and president, New Israel Fund, initiated the effort to begin a fellowship in honor of his parents. Through what Dr. Myers calls a “labor of love” and the support of the University, the fellowship has raised $450,000 to date through the generous support of dear friends, family and associates of the Myers’.
The fellowship was formally launched Oct. 24 at a lecture by Wayne Winborne, executive director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. The launch event continued Oct. 25 with a Festival of Ideas, at which distinguished scholars and activists discussed the way in which law, humanities and civic engagement can address the crisis of democracy in the 21st century.
