Lohez 9/11 Foundation Celebrates with Music, Awards, May 10th, French Consulate, NY

    NEW YORK, NY, May 03, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Jerome Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation will hold its 12th Annual Concert and Awards Reception at the Consulate of France in New York, Wednesday, May 10, 2017. The event will be held under the patronage of the Consul General of France in New York, Ms. Anne-Claire Legendre. The festivities will occur between 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. in the Salon Rose at 934 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Fine catering will be provided by Diane Gordon Catering.

The concert portion of the event will feature a suite of classic French Chansons, with vocalist Ms. Rosalinda Hassall accompanied by pianist Mr. Ouajdi Cherif. A selection of French classical music will also be performed on piano by 2014 Lohez Scholarship alumnus Mr. Soliman El-Cheikh.

Awards and recognition will be given to two of this year's four Lohez Scholars: Mr. Diego Filiu and Mr. Vincent Liagre. Two other scholars were celebrated last November in Shanghai, China: Ms. Katrin Buchenbacher and Ms. Le Yao.

Three Special Honorees will also speak and receive awards during the evening.

The Jacques Barzun Award for Distinguished Contributions to Trans-Cultural Scholarly Exchange:

- Dr. Joel Courtois, Managing Director, Ecole Pour l'Informatique et les Techniques Avancees (EPITA), France. In 1997, Dr. Courtois took over the job of directing EPITA, a member of IONIS Education Group, redefining the school's orientation, so as to position it as major graduate school of IT engineering with the accreditation of the French Government CTI. Dr. Courtois decided to boost international development at EPITA, as an essential leverage to favor the growth of the school and to increase attractivity for foreign students. New diplomas were implemented, with bilingual teaching. EPITA was the first engineering school to include a compulsory international cultural experience in its curriculum for all the students. EPITA has signed agreements and launched exchange programs with universities in 65 countries. International careers are frequent for the alumni, with more than 10% based in the US.

- Dr. Gregory P. Prastacos, Dean, School of Business, Stevens Institute of Technology, USA. Dean of the School of Business at Stevens Institute of Technology since 2012, Dr. Prastacos has been a major academic bridge-builder throughout his academic career. At Stevens he has established international collaborations with a number of top academic institutions in China and India, and has launched the international study trips program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Before joining Stevens, he was the Rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business in Greece, where he founded the Athens Business Confucius Institute, which is a major cultural link with China; and launched AUEB's International Entrepreneurship Chair, sponsored by the Indian government to promote relations with India. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of operations research, has led more than 25 major research projects, published eight books, and contributed more than 60 papers in international academic journals and edited volumes. For his work on the logistics of perishable inventory he has been awarded the First World Prize in the Practice of Management Science (Edelman Award), by the Institute for Management Sciences.

Distinguished American Spirit Award

- Ms. Diana Wege, Artist, Founder and Board Chair, WOVEN, USA. We Oppose Violence Everywhere Now (WOVEN) is a nonprofit organization committed to curtailing violence on a local, national and global basis. Diana Wege's work in conflict resolution began when she founded CrUSAde in New Canaan, Conn., in 1998. The foundation's work on issues related to conflict resolution in public schools was taken seriously after the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. The organization was then asked to create conflict resolution training programs across Connecticut. Ms. Wege is also a New York-based artist who uses art to express her convictions. In 2013, Wege created lithographs for advertisements in kiosks in New York City with the words, "REJECT VIOLENCE REJECT VIOLENCE REJECT VIOLENCE REJECT VIOLENCE." The campaign brought her memorable, anti-violence art direct to the people on the sidewalks of New York's five boroughs. She repeated similar, yet more wide-scale campaigns of the eight-line poem in 2014 and 2016. In 2017, WOVEN offered more than 30 grants to local, national and international organizations, including the Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation, which work toward curtailing violence in proven ways. WOVEN is now working on developing a mentoring program within schools to decrease all forms of violence.

Among the senior academic officers attending the evening:

- Dr. Nariman Farvardin, President, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Dr. Christophe Pierre, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Ms. Dawn da Silva, Assistant Vice President, Development, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Dr. Cory Way, Associate Dean, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
- Ms. Heather Allison Waters, Assistant Dean for Advancement, School of Education / Senior Director of Development, International Advancement, Syracuse University

About the Jerome Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation
The Jerome Lohez 9/11 Scholarship Foundation is the only charitable organization established after the 9/11 tragedy that is dedicated specifically to promoting educational and cultural exchange among the U.S., France and China. By providing scholarship awards to multinational students, enabling them to study in one another's homelands, the Foundation aims to shape the next generation of global citizen, along with a new class of international policy makers. The Foundation also seeks to develop a pool of highly-trained multicultural business leaders to serve as innovators in multinational commerce. The foundation was launched in November 2005 in honor of Jerome Robert Lohez, a French citizen who died in the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

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