America's Rabbi Shmuley Boteach to Speak at SUU

Published: February 27, 2008 | Read Time: 4 minutes

As the featured keynote of SUU’s Women’s Weeks Conference, "the most famous rabbi in America," Rabbi Shmuley Boteach will be offering a special presentation at Southern Utah University on Wednesday, March 5, in cooperation with the University’s Convocation Lecture Series. His lecture is titled Hating Women: The Growing Mistreatment in American Culture and What We Must do to Combat It. The Rabbi's presentation will be held in the Great Hall of SUU's Hunter Conference Center at noon.

The Rabbi is host of the daily national radio program, The Rabbi Shmuley Show on Oprah & Friends, XM Satellite Radio, and host of the award-winning national TV show, Shalom in the Home on TLC. He is also the international best-selling author of 19 books, including his most recent work, The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him, released by St. Martin’s Press in January of 2008. His recent works, Parenting With Fire and Ten Conversations You Need to Have With Your Children were both launched on Oprah’s TV show.

In 2007, Rabbi Shmuley was labeled “a cultural phenomenon” and “the most famous rabbi in America” by Newsweek magazine, and was named one of the ten most influential rabbis in America. Also in 2007, Rabbi Shmuley was honored by The National Fatherhood Initiative, receiving their most prestigious award for his efforts on Shalom in the Home to promote the importance of a caring father in the contemporary family.

In 1999, just days before the millennium, Rabbi Shmuley won the highly prestigious "Preacher of the Year" Award from the London Times, setting a record for the most points ever garnered in the competition's history. Rabbi Shmuley also publishes a weekly syndicated column for which, in 2005, he was awarded the American Jewish Press Association's highest award for excellence in commentary.

Such accolades come as no surprise to his longtime friend, SUU President Michael Benson, who is clearly excited to host Rabbi Shmuley at SUU. States Benson, “I’ve known Rabbi Shmuley for nearly twenty years, and as a Rabbi at Oxford, his influence broadened my academic and cultural perspective, as he brought some of the world’s most well-known leaders and dignitaries to our campus, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Itzhak Rabbin and even Leonard Nimoy. In addition to the Rabbi’s work as a religious and cultural leader, he is a great father, husband and friend.”

When asked of what he thought Rabbi Shmuley’s visit would mean to the SUU community, Benson replied, “Considering the topic of much of the Rabbi’s work, I think it’s great his visit coincides with the University’s Women’s Week. From a broader perspective, to have someone of this stature take an interest in SUU speaks of the University’s growing reputation and influence. I am honored he can help the campus and the region continue to expand its exposure to diverse ideologies; his perspective is both timely and insightful.”

Rabbi Shmuley first came to world attention through his founding of the Oxford University L'Chaim Society, an organization of Oxford students that within three years of its founding in 1988 had become the second largest student organization in Oxford 's history.

Rabbi Shmuley is a highly sought-after television and radio guest, having appeared on shows ranging from The Today Show and Good Morning America to The O'Reilley Factor, and nearly everything in between. He was also the subject of a full-length BBC documentary, Moses of Oxford. He has been profiled in many of the world's leading publications, including Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, The London Times, The L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post.

Hailed by Dennis Prager as "possessing one of the most fertile minds of our generation," Rabbi Shmuley has written many best-selling books including Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Kosher Sex, Kosher Adultery, Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments, Face Your Fear, the critically-acclaimed Judaism for Everyone, The Private Adam, his critique of American celebrity culture, and his review of Oxford history and life, Moses of Oxford, Volumes I and II. His book Why Can't I Fall in Love was a finalist for the 2002 Books for a Better Life Award, and in April 2005 Rabbi Shmuley published Hating Women: America 's Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex.

Many of Rabbi Shmuley's books have been serialized in major international publications and have been translated into seventeen languages, including Japanese, Thai, Czech, Chinese, Italian, Dutch, German, Russian and French.

Engaged in such a wide range of endeavors, it is no wonder that Salon.com wrote "Boteach has his scholarly finger on the pulse of the nation."

For more information about Southern Utah University’s Convocation series and a complete listing of presentations for Spring Semester, please visit www.suu.edu/convocations

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