Holocaust Historian And Tony Award-Winning Actress To Receive Honorary Degrees
December 4, 2000
University Park, Pa - Renowned historian Raul Hilberg and award-winning actress Uta Hagen, will be awarded honorary degrees during fall commencement ceremonies at University Park, Saturday, Dec. 16.

Hilberg will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters and will be the speaker at the undergraduate commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Bryce Jordan Center. Hagen will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree and will speak at the undergraduate commencement at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, in the Bryce Jordan Center.

Hilberg is recognized as one of the world's preeminent scholars on the Holocaust. His interest in the Holocaust began when he was a research specialist during the War Documentation Project at the Federal Records Center. He was responsible for classifying German records of the Nazi era that had been confiscated by the U.S. government during World War II.

His book, "The Destruction of the European Jews," is a landmark study of the Holocaust and the systematic extermination by Adolph Hitler of millions of Jews. A professor emeritus of political science at the University of Vermont, Hilberg was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as a member of the President's Commission on the Holocaust and was a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. In addition, he has been an expert witness in trials concerning the Holocaust.

Hagen has devoted her life to the mastery of acting and the profession of educating and training actors. As an actress, she achieved worldwide acclaim for her work in such plays as "The Country Girl" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and has been honored with two Tony Awards, two Drama Critics Awards, the Donaldson Award and the London Critics Award. Hagen received a lifetime-achievement Tony Award, American theatre's most-coveted honor, and an Obie Award, off-Broadway's highest honor.

Since 1947, she has devoted her life to teaching and directing at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York City, and has had a profound influence on the way acting is practiced and taught in this country. Hagen was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

Penn State awards honorary degrees to scholars, performers, artists and practitioners in academic fields, or individuals who have made particularly distinguished contributions to society in areas such as public service, business or government. This year's recipients were nominated by a 15-member faculty committee and approved by President Graham B. Spanier and the Board of Trustees.

Contact: Amy Neil, Department of Public Information, at (814) 865-7517 or .