The Wallenberg Endowment
Encyclopedia
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
is awarded to outstanding humanitarians whose actions on behalf of the defenseless and oppressed reflect the heroic commitment and sacrifice of Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
, the Swedish diplomat who rescued tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest during the closing months of World War II.
Raoul Wallenberg at the University of Michigan
Encouraged by his grandfather, Gustaf Wallenberg, a diplomat and member of a prominent Swedish familyWallenberg family
The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish banking family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
of bankers, industrialists and politicians, Raoul Wallenberg came to Ann Arbor in 1931 to study architecture at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. Here, his grandfather believed, he could escape the isolation of the elite position of his family and would have the chance to experience the broader world.
Wallenberg wore sneakers and rode a bicycle around campus, living in a boarding house rather than the more exclusive society of the fraternities. His many friends admired his modesty, sense of humor, and insightful intelligence. As an architecture student, he was recognized for his aptitude for finding practical solutions to complex problems. In 1933 he worked in Chicago at the Swedish pavilion in Century of Progress
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...
. He spent summers hitchhiking across the US and Canada, and in 1934 drove with a friend to Mexico City in a battered Ford.
He earned his degree with honors in architecture in 1935, winning the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
silver medal for student with highest academic standing.
The Wallenberg Endowment
The Wallenberg Executive Committee, which includes, faculty, students and members of the Ann Arbor community, raises funds for the endowment and select the annual medalist. The Wallenberg Endowment also supports the Wallenberg Summer Travel Fellowships, awarded to University of Michigan undergraduate and graduate students who undertake civic and humanitarian work anywhere in the world.Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning Wallenberg Scholarships
The University's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban PlanningTaubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
The A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the built environment at the University of Michigan. Formerly known as the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Taubman College gained the namesake of real estate developer and...
also awards Wallenberg Scholarships to exceptional undergraduate and graduate students, many of which are given to enable students to broaden their study of architecture to include work in distant locations.
Medalists
The twentieth Wallenberg Medal was awarded in 2010 to Dr. Denis MukwegeDenis Mukwege
Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist. Working in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been gang-raped by Rwandan militia, Mukwege has probably become the world's leading expert on how to repair the internal physical damage caused by gang rape...
, an obstetric/gynecological surgeon and chief of the Panzi Hospital
Panzi Hospital
Panzi Hospital was founded in 1999 in Bukavu, the capital of the Sud-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It specializes in treating survivors of violence, the large majority of whom have been sexually abused.Director Dr...
in Bukavu
Bukavu
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , lying at the extreme south-eastern extent of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the Sud-Kivu province and as of 2009 it had an estimated population of...
, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
. Dr. Mukwege has treated over 20,000 children and women who have suffered rape and sexual violence during the conflicts that have wracked the eastern Congo since 1996.
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