The National Institute of Social Sciences is delighted to announce Jennifer J. Raab, President of Hunter College of the City University of New York, as one of the 2022 Honorees for its Gold Honor Medal for distinguished service to society and humanity.

The National Institute will celebrate Ms Raab and the other Honorees at the 108th Annual Gold Medal Gala, which will be held in person in New York City on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. We hope you will be able to join us to honor Ms Raab and our other extraordinary Honorees and their accomplishments.

Jennifer J. Raab is the 13th President of Hunter College, the largest college of the City University of New York. Since assuming the presidency in 2001, she has led an effort to enlarge the Hunter College faculty and recruit distinguished professors and artists. Standards throughout the college have been raised, and fiscal management has been modernized and strengthened. Entering SAT scores increased by 89 points in seven years and are now 137 points above the national average. Hunter has won new levels of government awards, private grants and philanthropic contributions and launched the first capital campaign in its history.

President Raab has been credited with transforming Hunter College from an open-admissions institution to a selective, highly ranked college with a highly diverse student population that comprises one of America's largest cohorts of immigrant and first generation students, including the most selective Macaulay Honors program in the City University system. Since she assumed the presidency, Hunter has significantly increased its grants and awards, and modernized and strengthened its fiscal management. Pres. Raab has been responsible for securing an unprecedented $335 million in private philanthropic support for the college, the most successful fundraising in Hunter history. The Princeton Review ranks Hunter College among the best in the nation and has hailed Hunter as the “crown jewel of the CUNY system.” The College has also risen steadily in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings, now standing at 6th among top public regional universities in the North.

As a leader in public higher education, President Raab continues her long career in public service, from lawyer to political campaign adviser to government official. President Raab previously served as a litigator at two of the nation’s most prestigious law firms—Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Quickly earning a reputation as a strong but fair advocate, she was appointed Chairman of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, where she was known for her effective and innovative leadership of the agency that protects and preserves the city’s historic structures and architectural heritage.

A graduate of Hunter College High School, President Raab received a BA with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University, an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.

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One of the nation’s oldest honorary societies, the National Institute of Social Sciences has presented Gold Medals each year to men and women whose lives have manifested the highest achievements and who have made significant contributions to society and to humanity. This year’s Honorees joined a distinguished, diverse pantheon of Honorees that stretches back to 1913.

Recent Gold Medal Honorees include Kwame Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Amartya Sen (2021); Max Stier, Darren Walker, and Judy Woodruff (2020); Paul Edward Farmer and Peter Gelb (2019); Daniel Kahneman, Geraldine Kunstadter, and Elizabeth Barlow Rogers (2018); Ron Chernow, Robert Shiller, and Michael Sovern (2017); Pauline Newman, Richard L. Ottinger, and Robert Putnam, (2016); and John Bogle, Paul Krugman, and Michelle Kwan (2015).

Previous Gold Medal Honorees, 1913-2020

About the National Institute of Social Sciences
Established in 1912, the National Institute of Social Sciences is a voluntary association of public-spirited citizens who explore issues of urgent and lasting concern. One of the nation’s oldest honorary societies, the National Institute sponsors speeches, discussions, and events that encourage balanced, non-partisan debate and discussion; celebrates distinguished Americans and world leaders who have contributed at the highest level to the welfare and improvement of society; and provides financial support to emerging scholars who are conducting research in the social sciences.