ROOSEVELT HOUSE PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE

BOOK DISCUSSION WITH JONATHAN ALTER

Author Jonathan Alter and Moderator Richard Tofel discuss Alter's book, The Promise: President Obama, Year One at Roosevelt House
August 3, 2010
Photo by Phil Kessler

On August 3, 2010, Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter talked about his controversial New York Times bestseller, The Promise: President Obama, Year One, an inside account of President Obama and his administration in action, from his election through the dramatic passage of health care reform.
Alter, who has known Obama for nearly a decade and interviewed him half a dozen times, had full access to virtually everyone in the White House, including the President himself, Vice President Joe Biden and the president's top aides. He offered his timely analysis of the president and his inner circle as the U. S. prepares for the fall Congressional elections, including the administration's record on financial reform, the Gulf oil spill and other issues. Alter was interviewed by Hunter visiting professor Richard Tofel, general manager of ProPublica, the nonprofit investigative journalism newsroom that recently won a Pulitzer Prize.

DALAI LAMA VISITS ROOSEVELT HOUSE

Sample Image

Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab greets
His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the steps of Roosevelt House
May 23, 2010
Photo by Phil Kessler

His Holiness the Dalai Lama spent the morning of May 23 at Hunter College, first at a meeting of Chinese-American scholars at Roosevelt House, then with students at a conference on Chinese-Tibetan relations. Hunter President Jennifer J. Raab began the day's activities by presenting His Holiness with a President's Medal. "Your words and your deeds have lifted our spirits, renewed our optimism, and replenished our faith," said President Raab, thanking him for making the world "a better place." She also acknowledged the appropriateness of bestowing the award at the home of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, who, like His Holiness, "never ceased to uphold the eternal values of honesty, compassion, tolerance, and forgiveness." President Raab also referred to the watch FDR gave as a gift to the young Dalai Lama, which His Holiness himself said he fondly recalled as soon as he entered Roosevelt House. He was characteristically humble in accepting the award, calling himself "nothing special," yet acknowledging his lifelong commitment to the promotion of world peace and the celebration of universal human values.

To watch the forum with Chinese American scholars, please click here . To listen to the forum please click here .

To listen to His Holiness' address to students attending the BRIDGE conference, please click here.

ROOSEVELT HOUSE EXHIBITION

Picturing Policy: Reimagining Government in the New Deal, curated by Rickie Solinger, uses Roosevelt Administration-era photography to illustrate how the Great Depression affected ordinary Americans, and how New Deal programs improved their lives. Each photograph in the exhibition is accompanied by text from its original New Deal-era caption.

The exhibition is on view at Roosevelt House during public events and by appointment. For more information, please please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

San Francisco Unemployment Benefits Line, Dorothea Lange

Hot Lunch, Tennessee

GIVE TO ROOSEVELT HOUSE

Your gift to the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College will enable us to continue to legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and help Hunter College create a world-class center for the advancement of public policy.

Click here to learn more about making a tax-deductible gift to Roosevelt House or to give a gift on-line today.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Book Discussions

Hazel Rowley, "Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, November, 2010.)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Edmund Morris, "Colonel Roosevelt" (Random House, 2010), the final book in the author's biographical trilogy about Theodore Roosevelt.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Mark Lachs, MD, "Treat Me, Not My Age: How to Stay Healthy and Get Good Care as You or a Loved One Ages (2010)."
Cosponsored with the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity. Date to be announced.

Ron Chernow, "Washington: A Life" (Penguin Press, October 2010). Date to be announced.

All book discussions begin at 6:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Lectures and Panel Discussions

Conversations on Human Rights and International Justice: Louise Arbour

Friday, September 24, 2010, 11:30a.m.-1:30p.m.

"Election Insurrection: What to Expect in the Midterm Elections - 2010."
Moderator: Dan Abrams

Location: The Kaye Playhouse
Co-sponsored with The Common Good.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 6 p.m.

Conversations on Human Rights and International Justice: Luis Moreno Ocampo

Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 6 p.m.

Program in Public Policy – Fall 2010 Open House and Information Sessions

Attention Hunter undergraduates: Interested in learning more about the new Program in Public Policy? Come to one of our fall information sessions! See below for dates. For more information and to RSVP, please email Ellen Murray at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Location: The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College
47-49 East 65th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)

Tuesday, Sep 14: 11:00am – 12:30pm
Wednesday, Oct 20: 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Thursday, Nov 18: 11:00am – 12:30pm

RECENT EVENTS AND NEWS

Hunter’s Roosevelt House Receives National Endowment for the Humanities “Interpreting America’s Historic Places” Grant

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a prestigious “Interpreting America’s Historic Places” planning grant to Roosevelt House for a project entitled “Rediscovering the Legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in their New York City Home.” The grant will enable Roosevelt House to develop programs and materials that deepen and enrich historic interest in the Roosevelts and their legacy, especially as applied to contemporary issues of social policy. The NEH also designated Roosevelt House as a project of its “We the People” initiative, which encourages and strengthens the “teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture though the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in US history and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America.”

New York Times City Room features Roosevelt House

A Home (Barely) Fit for Two Mrs. Roosevelts
By James Barron
July 7, 2010

"For the first time in 67 years, people are living in a certain rather famous town house on East 65th Street — up on the sixth floor, where the original occupants’ laundry flapped in the breeze long ago...."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Robert Morgenthau Receives Honorary Degree

On June 17, 2010, President Jennifer J. Raab conferred an honorary doctorate of humane letters on former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau.

To see video exerpts of the ceremony, please click here.

From left to right: Kinte Morgan, Hunter College graduate; Jennifer J. Raab, Hunter College President; Robert Morgenthau; Sukmon Chu, Hunter College student

Mr. Morgenthau grew up having close family ties to both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt so it is only fitting that this special ceremony take place at Roosevelt House.

Robert Morgenthau served for 34 years as the District Attorney of New York County as an influential leader in sustaining the rule of law in our community and country. To celebrate the Morgenthau family's multi-generational commitment to public service, Hunter College has kicked-off a campaign to name a room at Roosevelt House in their honor -- The Morgenthau Fund at Roosevelt House.

Preservation Award
for Roosevelt House

On April 21, 2010 the New York Landmarks Conservancy awarded one of its coveted Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards to Hunter College for its restoration of Roosevelt House. The coveted awards, nicknamed the “Preservation Oscars,” laud outstanding preservation efforts by individuals and projects. Click here to learn more about this special honor.

The Michael Smerconish Morning Show Features Dr. John McDonough, Joan H. Tisch Distinguished Fellow in Public Health. (March 17, 2010) To listen to the podcast, please click here.

The Huffington Post Publishes Article by Dr. John McDonough, Joan H. Tisch Distinguished Fellow in Public Health (March 3, 2010). To read the article online, please click here .

New York Times Reporter Bill Cunningham Features Roosevelt House (February 28, 2010) Click here to view "Evening Hours: Snow Angels" online.

Boston Globe Article Features Joan H. Tisch Fellow, John E. McDonough (February 24, 2010) Click here to read the article online.

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