For Immediate Release
CAMDEN — Jonathan G. Granoff, an internationally respected leader and author on matters concerning the elimination of nuclear weapons, has been selected to receive the 2009 Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award from the Rutgers-Camden Law Alumni Association.
The award, which is the top honor presented annually to graduates of the Rutgers School of Law—Camden, will be bestowed during a special ceremony on the Rutgers-Camden Campus on Thursday, June 11. He will be introduced by Ambassador Robert T. Grey Jr., former U.S. representative to the Conference on Disarmament and Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr., a senior U.S. diplomat involved in the negotiation of every major international arms control and non-proliferation agreement for the past 30 years, including START, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Granoff currently serves as president of the Global Security Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to the elimination of nuclear weapons. GSI’s board includes world figures ranging from former U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev to Christie Brinkley. He was selected for “making significant contributions to the profession.” The alumni selection committee also considered the following criteria when making its decision: that the recipient be highly regarded, active in civic or professional programs, and entrusted with a responsible position, in or out of the legal profession.
Granoff co-chairs the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nuclear Nonproliferation of the International Law Section of the American Bar Association. He holds positions on numerous governing and advisory boards including the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, the Lawyers Alliance for World Security, the Jane Goodall Institute, the Bipartisan Security Group, and the Middle Powers Initiative.
On March 17, the Rutgers–Camden law school graduate made a presentation, “The Millennium Development Goals: Real Family Values,” at the General Assembly of the United Nations. He has spoken as the representative of the Nobel Laureate organization, the International Peace Bureau, at the Nobel Peace Laureate Summits in Rome and Paris regularly from 2002 to 2008. He lectures at a wide variety of venues worldwide, ranging from NATO to the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Institute for International and Political Studies in Tehran. He emphasizes the legal, ethical, and spiritual dimensions of human development and security, with a specific focus on the threats posed by nuclear weapons.
He is the screenwriter of The Constitution: The Document that Created a Nation, which won the silver medal at the International Film & TV Festival of New York in 1990. He has been featured in more than 50 publications, including The Sovereignty Revolution (Stanford University Press, 2004) by Alan Cranston.
Granoff’s efforts to promote global peace have commanded attention and respect from many leaders. “I am delighted that (the) Rutgers–Camden School of Law will be honouring my good friend and mentor Jonathan Granoff,” says Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a U.N. Messenger of Peace. “Jonathan works tirelessly to strengthen global security and to make our world a safer place for all. As President of the Global Security he has furthered the work of the late Sen. Alan Cranston and he deserves many accolades – may he NEVER give up his many endeavours for peace. I am proud to call him my friend.”
Numerous other global dignitaries have provided the Rutgers Law School with their testimonials on behalf of Granoff. “I wish to congratulate the Distinguished Alumni awarding of Jonathan Granoff. He has been acting tirelessly as head of the Global Security Institute for the cause of a world without nuclear weapons. I have been working with him since the time I served as Under-Secretary-General of the U.N. for Disarmament Affairs,” says Nobuyasu Abe, former United Nations Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs.
Actor Michael Douglas wrote to the Rutgers Law School: “Jonathan Granoff is truly one of the good guys! As president and founder of the Global Security Institute, his passion, intelligence, energy and devotion to making the planet a safer place by riding the world of weapons of mass destruction can only be seen as exemplary inspiration.” Adds Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire: “I am delighted to hear that Rutgers School of Law is honouring my good friend Jonathan Granoff with the Arthur E. Armitage Sr. Distinguished Alumni Award.”
A resident of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., Granoff received his Juris Doctor degree from the Rutgers School of Law—Camden in 1979. He is a 1970 cum laude graduate of Vassar College. Granoff is the son of Kitty Kallen, a famed Big Band singer.
Granoff will receive his award during a special ceremony at the Rutgers–Camden law school during 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 11. To register, contact Terry McCuen at (856) 225-6180.
Established in 1983, the alumni award is a memorial to Arthur E. Armitage Sr. who, with a group of interested citizens, founded both the South Jersey Law School in 1926 and its companion College of South Jersey in 1927. In 1950, the Camden Campus became affiliated with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Contact: Mike Sepanic
(856) 225-6026
E-mail: msepanic@camden.rutgers.edu
Jonathan Granoff is the President of the Global Security Institute, a representative to United Nations of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates, a former Adjunct Professor of International Law at Widener University School of Law, and Senior Advisor to the Committee on National Security American Bar Association International Law Section.
