Summer 2003

Trachtenberg Receives Sabin Humanitarian Award

President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg was among this year’s Sabin Vaccine Institute Humanitarian Award winners, the institute’s highest non-science prize. Singer/songwriter Paul Simon and Montefiore Medical Center Children’s Hospital President Irwin Redlener, co-founders of the Children’s Health Fund, also received Humanitarian Awards, while Bernard Poussot, president of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, was recognized with the Sabin Lifetime Achievement Award.

“For the first time in the history of these awards, the work of four individuals has been brought to the institute’s attention all within the same year,” said Sabin Institute Chair H.R. Shepherd.

In commending the accomplishments of President Trachtenberg, Shepherd cited the Trachtenberg Scholars program, which has awarded 68 full, four-year scholarships to academically outstanding DC public high school seniors — a commitment of more than $9 million. Also mentioned were the University’s facilities in the new GW Hospital, home to the Sabin Institute’s human hookworm vaccine research program.

“Navigating the rise of an established and recognized academic institution to far greater heights of excellence and prestige is no mean feat, particularly in the nation’s capital where a lesser figure would become overpowered by the politics and peculiarities that can impede progress,” said Shepherd.

“Not only are students today benefitting from his many progressive initiatives,” added Shepherd, “but the city has been uplifted by his scholarship program for promising District of Columbia public school students.”

Co-winners Simon and Redlener were recognized for their efforts to combat the health crisis facing impoverished children in the United States, by forming the Children’s Health Fund.

Poussot received the lifetime achievement award for his guidance at Wyeth Pharmaceutical, a leader in the development and introduction of vaccines and other drugs to fight disease.

“I am humbled to be included in a group that has impacted humankind in such a positive way,” said Trachtenberg. “But, in truth, this award truly recognizes the dedication and commitment of the entire GW community — from our world-class faculty and staff to the talented students who study in our classrooms and laboratories.”

Previous recipients of the Sabin Humanitarian Award include Jean-Pierre Garnier, chair and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline; Jean-Jacques Betrand, chair and CEO of Aventis Pasteur; Mary Flake de Flores, first lady of Honduras; and Nicholas Zwick, founder of Dialogic Corporation (now part of Intel).

 

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