Former Topps Chewing Gum VP to be
Awarded Honorary Doctorate from C.W. Post
Port Washington resident Edward Shorin - a major force in the recent
expansion of adult education at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University
in Brookville - will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
from the University at its 42nd annual commencement exercises on Sunday,
May 9.
Shorin, a retired vice president of the Topps Chewing Gum Company, is
actively involved in C.W. Post's Hutton House Lectures program, which regularly
presents lectures and seminars for adult students in philosophy, art, classical
music, political theory, mythology, archaeology and more.
Shorin will receive his honorary degree along with three other highly
accomplished individuals: Charlie Rose, the award-winning television journalist
and talk show host; James Comer, a Yale University psychiatrist, social
reformer and educator; and Joseph H. Rothenberg, associate administrator
for space flight at NASA and a graduate of C.W. Post ('73, '78.)
When he retired in 1984 from Topps Chewing Gum Company, Shorin began
taking continuing studies courses in The Hutton House Lectures program.
Sharing the pleasure of studying with other mature adults who regularly
immerse themselves in the liberal arts, he became an advisory board member
and later chairman of the program. His diligent volunteer work was instrumental
in expanding the outreach of the Lectures, which before his tenure drew
only a few hundred students per year but which now attract thousands.
Shorin then became a volunteer staff member at the C.W. Post School of
Continuing Studies, assisting in the design of programs intended to benefit
adults in neighboring communities. He soon was recruiting adult volunteers
for a broad range of community services, developing a volunteer registry,
and enlisting a select group of retirees to work with C.W. Post programs
and to promote student welfare on the campus.
Shorin and his wife, Genny, have donated generously to the new Hutton
House Lectures Library located in Lorber Hall, a grand mansion on campus.
A graduate of the High School of Music and Art in New York City, Shorin
served in the U.S. Navy and then attended Bucknell University, earning
a B.S. in economics in 1949. He joined his family's business, the Topps
Chewing Gum Company, known worldwide for bubble gum, baseball cards and
children's confectionery products; and eventually served as its director
and international vice president, establishing manufacturing ventures from
Australia and Yugoslavia to Nigeria and the Philippines. The Shorins have
two sons and five grandchildren.
Dr. David J. Steinberg, president of Long Island University, will confer
Ed Shorin's honorary degree at ceremonies on May 9 in front of the university's
Humanities Hall. Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals who, through
their perseverance, dedication to their field, and commitment to community,
serve as role models to students.
For more information call the C.W. Post Public
Relations Office at (516) 299-2333 or e-mail pr@cwpost.liu.edu
or send mail to: Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, 720 Northern
Blvd., Brookville, New York 11548-1300.
