Alumni couple receives highest university honor UCLA Medal

Two UCLA alumni were awarded the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest honor, at the chancellor’s residence Tuesday.

Ralph and Shirley Shapiro received the honor from Chancellor Gene Block at a medal ceremony. The Shapiros have endowed over 12 faculty chairs through the Shapiro Family Charitable Foundation, according to a university press release.

The UCLA Medal was established in 1979 and has been awarded to distinguished recipients for their academic and professional contributions, according to a UCLA policy.

The Shapiros join 162 other recipients, including former President Bill Clinton and former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.

The Shapiros have gifted the university over $6 million in endowments. In 2018, the Shapiro Family Charitable Foundation gifted about $2.25 million to the David Geffen School of Medicine to support four endowed chairs and facilitate research in developmental and behavioral disorders, such as cerebral palsy and autism.

The foundation also donated $2 million to the UCLA School of Nursing to endow a chair in developmental disability studies in 2018, according to the press release.

The pair has served on numerous advisory boards for UCLA School of Law and UCLA Anderson School of Management. Ralph Shapiro is also a member of the UCLA Centennial Campaign cabinet and a longtime member of the UCLA Foundation Board of Directors. Shirley Shapiro has served on several university advisory councils, including the board of directors for Women and Philanthropy at UCLA and the UCLA Law Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment.

Ralph Shapiro received a degree in business administration in 1953 at UCLA and later graduated from UCLA Law in 1958.

Shirley Shapiro earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1959 at UCLA.

The university has recognized the Shapiros’ commitment to the school by naming the fountain at the top of Janss Steps after them in 2004 as well as a courtyard at the UCLA School of Law.