The Philadelphia Award 2003

WHYY Press Room

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WHYY TO BROADCAST THE 83RD PHILADELPHIA AWARD

HONORING JUDITH RODIN

WHYY will broadcast on Wednesday, November 10 at 10:30 p.m., The 83rd Philadelphia Award ceremony honoring Judith Rodin, a trailblazer in higher and public education. THE PHILADELPHIA AWARD 2003 features Rodin, president emerita of the University of Pennsylvania, scholar, author, teacher, catalyst for neighborhood change, and builder of bridges among people of all backgrounds, accepting the award in September at the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School in West Philadelphia, known as the Sadie school to its students.

The program also features archival footage and background information on previous   Philadelphia Award winners, including Marian Anderson, Samuel S. Fels, Louis I. Kahn and Willard G. Rouse, III. The prestigious award is presented to a citizen of the region who has done the most to “advance the best and largest interest” of the community. Rodin, president-designate of The Rockefeller Foundation, was recognized for advancing a multitude of initiatives that have positively impacted Penn, the surrounding neighborhood and the entire Philadelphia region.

Rodin’s friends, family and colleagues, including politicians, educators, business and cultural leaders, gathered in the Sadie school to help celebrate her achievement. The school, the centerpiece of Rodin’s commitment to improving the learning environment in neighborhood schools, provides students with a high-caliber education in a state-of the-art setting. It has been hailed as the “gold standard” by the national association of independent colleges and universities for bringing the most effective, research-proven educational practices into the classroom.

Keynote Speaker The Honorable Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, and former Louisiana state senator, mayor of New Orleans and president of the United States Conference of Mayors, compared Rodin to African-American lawyer and civil rights activist Sadie Alexander, for whom the elementary school is named, calling both women pioneers, and visionaries of great courage. Morial also likened Rodin’s commitment to revitalize the community of West Philadelphia to the courage demonstrated by the biblical figure Judith, who saved her city from an invading army.

William J. Marrazzo, chair of The Philadelphia Award Trustees, spoke of Rodin’s passion for her post at Penn and for the residents of West Philadelphia.

Upon accepting The Philadelphia Award medal and $25,000 honorarium, which she is donating to a number of Penn-affiliated organizations in West Philadelphia, Rodin reminded the audiences that at the beginning of her tenure at Penn, many of her revolutionary ideas were greeted with skepticism. “We refused to yield to cynicism, and today this school [Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander], and other partnership schools throughout West Philadelphia, have become a national model for revitalizing urban education.”

Rodin joins a prestigious group of distinguished leaders who have won The Philadelphia Award, established in 1921 to honor the achievements of the men and women of Philadelphia, from many walks of life, who, while not pursing greatness, have achieved great things. Last year’s winner was author Lorene Cary.

This program was produced by WHYY-TV. Trudi Brown is executive producer and Ed Cunningham is producer.

Funding for THE PHILADELPHIA AWARD was provided by Edward W. Bok Trust Fund.

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