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LOS ANGELES, CA — Steven Spielberg, Founder of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, will present Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, with the USC Shoah Foundation Institute’s highest honor, the Ambassador for Humanity Award. Iger will be honored at the Institute’s Annual Gala on June 6, 2012 for his support of the Institute’s work, his longtime philanthropy, and his leadership role in corporate citizenship. Jimmy Kimmel is host for the evening with a special performance by Grammy Award-winning recording artist Mary J. Blige.

“Bob Iger is one of the good guys, who leads and inspires at the same time,” Spielberg said. “Bob was one of the first visitors to the Shoah Foundation in 1995, shortly after it was established. He didn’t hesitate to support us as we raced against time to videotape the eyewitnesses before it was too late. Now, his ongoing commitment is helping us bring the messages of the Visual History Archive to young people worldwide.”

 “Bob Iger is a corporate citizen of the highest order, and we are honored to recognize him as our Ambassador for Humanity,” Stephen D. Smith, Executive Director of the Institute, said. “His ongoing support, and that of The Walt Disney Company, is a great boost to our efforts as we engage students emotionally and cognitively with the testimonies. The good news is that we are finding a shift in attitudes and beliefs about how to treat others, which gives us hope that the testimonies, through this visual medium, can have a transformative effect on perceptions and actions.”

“At jcpenney, we believe that diversity inspires a better workplace and a better world,” said Michael Francis, president of jcpenney, presenting sponsor of the Ambassadors for Humanity Gala. “As a company founded on the Golden Rule philosophy, we could not be more proud to support the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and its promotion of tolerance, cultural understanding and mutual respect. It’s through the Institute’s preservation of personal life stories that we are able to use lessons from the past to create a better tomorrow."  

"It is truly an honor to recognize Robert A. Iger, a venerated member of USC's Trojan Family," said C. L. Max Nikias, President of the University of Southern California. "Mr. Iger is a distinguished executive in the entertainment industry, as well as a visionary leader who shares USC’s commitment to education and to young people. He remains an exemplary role model for all USC students."

Since 1994, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute has collected and maintained an archive of nearly 52,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses from 56 countries, and in 32 languages. The Institute will soon be announcing that their multi-year, multimillion dollar effort to digitize the original 234,979 Betacam SP tapes that hold the 52,000 testimonies has been fulfilled. This major milestone is just the first step in the ongoing effort to preserve the collection for generations to come, but it is an unprecedented achievement made possible by the support of people all over the world.

For more event information, call the USC Shoah Foundation Institute Benefit Line 818.777.7876

About the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education

Established in 1994 by Steven Spielberg to collect and preserve the testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world: nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 32 languages and from 56 countries. The Institute is part of the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California; its mission is to overcome prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry—and the suffering they cause—through the educational use of the Institute’s visual history testimonies.

The Institute works within the University and with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, to provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies for educational purposes. In addition to preserving the testimonies in its archive, the Institute is working with partner organizations to expand the archive with accounts of survivors and witnesses of other genocides.

For more information, please contact:

Anne Marie Stein, USC Shoah Foundation Institute
925.708.5300
gotams@hotmail.com

Andy Gelb/Stephanie Samson, Slate PR
310.461.0111
andy@slate-pr.com / stephanie@slate-pr.com