Dr.Susan Levit awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor

The award presented by the National Coalition of Ethnic Organizations (NCEO) at a dinner in the Great Hall of Ellis Island on May 2005.

NECO presents the Ellis Island Medals of Honor annually to ethnic Americans from all backgrounds to recognize outstanding professional and patriotic contributions. The medals were conceived to pay tribute to the immigrant experience, remarkable individual achievement, and above all, the spirit that makes America unique among nations. NECO’s Ellis Island Medal of Honor is the only award of its kind sanctioned by both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

Previous Ellis honorees have included Presidents George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, and Ronald Reagan; Governors Mario Cuomo and George Pataki; Senators Patrick Moynihan and Hillary Clinton; General Norman Schwartzkopf; President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame - Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh; Dr. Michael DeBakey; Coretta Scott King; Rosa Parks; Former Chrysler CEO - Lee Iacocca; Muhammad Ali and Joe DiMagio; television personalities Walter Cronkite, Eric Severeid, Phil Donahue, and Barbara Walters; and entertainers Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Tony Bennett, Gloria Estefan and Bob Hope.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor are awarded to distinguished, living American citizens who exemplify the ideal of living a life dedicated to the American way while preserving values of their heritage, contribute extraordinary service enabling the growth and preservation of the diversity of American life, and also achieve a level of distinguished service to humanity.