The 2011 Harvard Club Annual Dinner and Awards
Join us as we honor Sumner Redstone AB '44, LLB '47, Chairman of the Board, CBS Corporation and Viacom and Father William Muller, SJ, President of Verbum Dei High School. Entertainment provided by The Yardbirds.
John Harvard Award Recipient:
Sumner M. Redstone AB '44, LLB '47
Chairman of the Board, Viacom Corporation and CBS Corporation
Sunday, May 22nd @ 6:00pm
USC Town & Gown, 665 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90089-0871.
We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of two incredible members of our local community, Sumner M. Redstone AB'44, LLB '47 and Father William Muller, SJ. Event entertainment will be provided by the all Harvard alum, a capella singing group, The Yardbirds.
This year’s recipient of the Club’s John Harvard Award for Distinguished Community Service is Sumner M. Redstone AB ’44, LLB ’47, chairman of the board of both CBS Corporation and Viacom. Under Mr. Redstone’s leadership, Viacom’s operations consist of MTV Networks, BET Networks and Paramount Pictures, and include such well-known global brands as MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, BET, Rock Band, AddictingGames, Atom, Neopets, and Shockwave. Mr. Redstone devotes a large portion of his time and energy to civic and community affairs. The Sumner M. Redstone Foundation recently announced charitable grants of more than $105 million to fund research and patient care advancements at FasterCures/The Center for Accelerating Medical Solutions, the Cedars-Sinai Prostate Cancer Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Cambodian Children's Fund. In 2010, Mr. Redstone contributed $1M for scholarships at both Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
Father William Muller, SJ, will be this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. He is the current President of Verbum Dei High School, an all-boys Catholic high school located in Watts. Verbum Dei was founded in 1962 and has educated thousands of students from Watts and the surrounding neighborhoods. VDHS built a national reputation in the 70's and 80's, primarily through the strength of their athletic programs, with numerous Verb alumni playing, or have played, in the NBA and NFL including current NBA star, Andre Miller, and former NBA stars David Greenwood and Roy Hamilton. In the late 90's and early 2000's, VDHS enrollment declined dramatically, placing the school on a financial precipice and evaluating closure as an option. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles asked the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, to step in and take over the administration of the school, including educating the students. Father Muller was asked to step in as the first Jesuit President of VDHS in 2008. What he found was a school that was struggling with enrollment, an unsophisticated financial reporting system that did not have enough money to pay all operating expenses, a faculty in disarray, and parents wondering if the doors to VDHS would be open for the fall of 2008. Drawing upon: (i) his experience as school president at other Jesuit run high schools; (ii) the Verb alumni; (iii) Jesuit and friends of Jesuits in and around the Los Angeles area; and, (iv) prayer, he lead the re-organization of the school, its faculty, it's Board of Directors, students and its finances, so that the Verbs operation and viability went from day to day to a school with the ability to plan several years into the future. Through the strength of his leadership, Fr. Muller has built an excellent and enthusiastic faculty and staff, increased student enrollment, resulting in a once again vibrant educational community in a safe and dynamic environment for the young men of Watts and surrounding areas that are looking for a quality education at an affordable price, and the opportunity to attend college.
Entertainment at the Annual Dinner will be provided by The Yardbirds, who were started when Pitches co-founder Diane Nabatoff '78 and former Callbacks president Mia Riverton '99 decided they really missed singing in their undergrad a cappella groups. Diane and Mia made a few calls to their Harvard friends who love to sing -- and now, two years later, the group has blossomed into the current 16-member ensemble. The Yardbirds are composed solely of Harvard alums and represent a cross-section of Harvard a cappella groups spanning the 70's to the 00's: the Pitches, Krokodiloes, Callbacks, and Opportunes. The group’s repertoire ranges from American Songbook standards to contemporary popular songs.
Cost*: $75 Members and guests; $80/non-members (Qualify for a $20 Club Membership discount); $60 Recent Grads (Class of ’01 – ‘10)
Contact: Madeleine Mejia, Madeleine_Mejia@post.harvard.edu
*Price includes three course meal and parking.
Click here to register!