Hebrew University of Jerusalem Convocation Ceremony: June 8, 2014 Biographies of Honorary Doctorate Recipients GAIL ASPER OC OM A community leader and role model, Gail Asper continues to work tirelessly to enhance the world in which she lives. As President and a Trustee of the Asper Foundation, she is a driving force behind projects in Canada and Israel and spearheaded the creation of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her commitment to the Hebrew University ranges from serving on the Board of Governors to being a member of the Canadian Friends National Board. The Asper Centre for Entrepreneurship at the School of Business Administration continues to flourish thanks to the support of the Asper Foundation; in addition Gail is passionate about student support, the Rothberg International School and the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada. Gail received her law degree from the University of Manitoba in 1984, and joined Canwest Global Communications Corporation as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in 1989, a position she held until 2008. She is currently President of the Canwest Foundation. Today Gail’s community involvement includes numerous positions to which she brings her passion and dedication. Daughter of the late Izzy Asper, she realized his dream to build the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, serving as a member of its inaugural Board and as Chair of its National Campaign. She is Director Emerita of the Centre for Cultural Management at the University of Waterloo and is a past Chair of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Winnipeg. Gail has also served on many boards within the Winnipeg Jewish Community. Gail is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and her awards include the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal; the Order of Manitoba; an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Manitoba; the distinguished Canadian Leadership Award from the University of Ottawa; and the Canadian Bar Association’s President’s Award. Born in Winnipeg in May 1960, Gail is married to Michael Patterson and has two children, Stephen and Jonathan. JOSÉ MANUEL DURÃO BARROSO President of the European Commission and former prime minister of Portugal, José Manuel Durão Barroso is a scholar and a respected statesman in the national and international arenas whose broad scope of activities in the European Union stem from his leadership abilities, his talents and, above all, his vision for a prosperous, secure and sustainable Europe. José Manuel Barroso was born in the Portuguese capital Lisbon and studied law and European studies at the University of Lisbon, going on to a master’s degree in political science at the University of Geneva. He embarked on a career in academia, and was a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and in the Department of Political Science at the University of Geneva. José Manuel Barroso served as a visiting professor in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and in 1995 he was appointed head of the Department of International Relations at Lusíada University in Lisbon. In 1979, he established the University Association for European Studies. José Manuel Barroso’s entry into politics began during his years in academia. In 1980, he joined the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and he was elected party president in 1999, earning recognition for his exceptionally vigorous efforts and his achievements on behalf of his constituency. He served as PSD president for three terms and simultaneously served as vice- president of the European People’s Party. In April 2001, he was elected to lead the government of Portugal, a position he held until July 2004, when he became President of the European Commission. José Manuel Barroso is highly regarded for his ardent efforts to shape a new order for the European Union which aspires to a new era of a global Europe. The recipient of many awards and of honorary degrees from universities throughout the world, he was chosen as European of the Year for 2006 by the magazine European Voice. He has initiated numerous publications on political science, international relations and the European Union. José Manuel Durão Barroso is a fervent advocate of the creation of academic chairs at universities the world over, including the Jean Monnet Chair at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem which was established with the assistance of the European Union. He is likewise active in establishing student exchange programs with countries that are not members of the European Union, among them the State of Israel. José Manuel Durão Barroso shows a profound interest in Israel and maintains ties with those in academic and government circles. Most recently he has called for the vehement condemnation of anti-Semitism, racism and faith-based discrimination. PATRICIA L. GLASER Patricia Glaser has been a champion of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for more than three decades. She serves on the University’s International Board of Governors and received an Honorary Fellowship in 2008. Patricia has provided exemplary leadership to the American Friends of the Hebrew University, serving on its national board and as vice chairman and past president of the Los Angeles Region board. In 2013, Patty received AFHU’s national Scopus Award in recognition of her humanitarian and professional accomplishments. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, Patty earned her BA from The American University and her JD from Rutgers University. She began her legal career at Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silbert, where she later became a partner. Now chair of the litigation department of Glaser Weil, Patty is a preeminent business trial attorney who is sought after for high- stakes litigation. She provides general legal counsel in areas including real estate, entertainment, banking and securities. Esteemed within the legal community, Patty has earned numerous accolades. Chambers and Partners describes her as a "trial icon." She is included every year in the Daily Journal's list of "Top Women Litigators" and its list of "100 Leading Attorneys in California." Since its inception in 2005, Lawdragon Magazine has recognized Patty as one of its 500 Leading Lawyers in America. Outside the courtroom, Patty serves on the UCLA Israel Studies Program Advisory Board, the Board of Trustees for The National Judicial College and the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Legal Division. A theater enthusiast, Patty produces local plays and serves on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Music Center Theatre Group and the Geffen Theater. Patty resides in Century City and Malibu, California with her husband Sam Mudie, an entrepreneur and amateur athlete. She has two children by marriage and two adorable grandsons. YEHOSHUA KENAZ Yehoshua Kenaz is one of the leading Hebrew authors of our time. He has been publishing novels and short stories since the 1950s, describing the various aspects of Israeli society with piercing realism and human sensitivity. Kenaz was born in Petach Tikva and lives in Tel Aviv. After his military service he began studying at Hebrew University but a year later he left for the Sorbonne in Paris. While in Paris he became acquainted with French literature, which has had a significant impact on his writing. After two years in Paris he returned to Jerusalem and Hebrew University to study philosophy and Romance Languages. His first book, After the Holidays (1964), is about Israeli society in general and introduces an array of symbols that was to become the hallmark of his work. The particular instance (the small farming community in this novel) becomes a case study of Israeli society, with its ethnic, political and theological tensions writ large. Musical Moments (1964), his second book, is a collection of short stories about the childhood and adolescence of a young artist in Palestine. Many consider his monumental novel “Infiltration” (1986) to be the most important Israeli novel to date. In it Kenaz paints an allegorical picture of modern Israeli society as reflected by a platoon of young recruits with minor physical disabilities during their basic training in the late 1950s. His book The Way to the Cats (1991) is a dark parody of Dante's Divine Comedy” set in an Israeli old-age home. In his later novellas, Returning Lost Loves (1997) and Burning Fuse Boxes (2000), Kenaz develops a new language that attempts to capture the dynamics of Israeli slang. His later stories, Landscape with Three Trees (2000) and A Flat with a Courtyard Entrance (2008) return to the more conciliatory style of his biographical stories. Yehoshua Kenaz has translated 15 masterpieces, the majority from French and some from English. In the 1960s and ‘70s he was one of the editors of the literary journal Keshet, published between 1958 and 1977 and edited by the translator and poet Aharon Amir. In the 1980s he edited, with Yoram Bronowski, the monthly journal Machbarot Lesifrut as well as the Haaretz literary supplement. YOSSI LANGOTSKY Yossi Langotsky, the guiding spirit behind the discovery of Israel’s off-shore gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea, was born in Jerusalem. He received his BSc and MSc degrees from the Hebrew University (1961). While still a student he worked as a petroleum geologist at the Sde Heletz oil field; toward the end of his graduate studies he joined the Geological Survey of Israel as a researcher and was later appointed deputy director of that institute. In the Six Day War he commanded the Jerusalem Special Forces unit and participated in the battle for Jerusalem, earning the Distinguished Service Medal. Between 1968 and 1976 Yossi Langotsky held a variety of posts in Israel’s standing army, including commander of IDF strongholds in the Sinai during the War of Attrition, founder of the Intelligence Corps’ Special Operations branch, and commander of the Special Technological Operations Unit of the Intelligence Corps.