Eugene J. Keogh Award for Distinguished Public Service
Ruth Gruber
Journalist and Humanitarian
WSC ’30
Ruth Gruber Bio
A highly-respected journalist and humanitarian, Ruth Gruber has contributed to several of the most defining moments of the 20th Century.
At age 20, she was the youngest person in the world to receive a PhD; she was the first foreign correspondent to fly through Siberia into the Soviet Arctic; she served as special assistant to the US Secretary of the Interior during World War II, where she was assigned a secret mission to bring Jewish refugees and wounded American soldiers to the US; and she documented the plight of Jewish refugees following the War, including coverage of the Exodus 1947 ship.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Na’amat USA’s Golda Meir Human Rights Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and five honorary doctorates.
Nominations
In addition to the annual call for nominations, nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.