- Lois Rosenthal
Lois Rosenthal is a highly recognizedFact|article|date=September 2007 publisher and arts patron in
Cincinnati ,Ohio . She serves on the boards of theCincinnati Art Museum ,Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park ,Cincinnati FreeStore ,Art Links ,Cincinnati Museum Center, and theCincinnati Mercantile Library .She is known for her hands-on philosophy of service in her community and has been named
Enquirer Woman of the Year in 1999 byThe Cincinnati Enquirer .Fact|article|date=September 2007Major Philanthropy
She and her husband,
Richard H. Rosenthal established The Rosenthal Foundation and through it donated $5 million for the $35.7M Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), built in downtown Cincinnati. Designed by celebrated architectZaha Hadid the center has become a mecca for emerging artists and patrons in the mid-west. In recognition for their contribution and deep involvement in its creation, the center was named The Lois and Richard Rosenthal CAC.The Rosenthal Foundation made a $2.15 million grant to the
Cincinnati Art Museum to make admission to theEden Park art museum permanently free to all.The foundation also made a $300,000 gift to the
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to sponsor theEternal Flame of Freedom at the center, which graces the Cincinnati riverfront.Together with her husband, Lois co-founded the
Lois and Richard Rosenthal Institute for Justice (RIJ), based at the University of Cincinnati School of Law, to "harness the idealism, energy and intellect of law students, turning those qualities into a vehicle for positive social and legal change in Cincinnati, the state of Ohio, and beyond."The couple also founded
Uptown Arts , anOver-the-Rhine arts academy that offers free lessons to 300 inner-city children each year in such disciplines as art, music and dance. Uptown arts is housed in a restored three-story, 12,000 square-foot Liberty Street building that also houses The Rosenthal Foundation.Lois launched the
Rosey Reader Program, which distributes free books to inner-city schools.With her husband, she co-founded the Rosenthal Next Generation Theater Series at the
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park which introduces children to plays.Her work at the Cincinnati
FreeStore enables distribution of fresh foods to the needy.In their effort to fund emerging artists, she and her husband sponsored a ballet called "Blue Until June" that was choreographed to the music of
Etta James .Early Philanthropy
In 1988 Lois and Richard Rosenthal established the
New Play Prize at theCincinnati Playhouse in the Park . The prize, which funds full production of a new play each year, has become one of the most important theater honors in the U.S. The 2003 production of Carson Kreitzer's"The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer," epitomizes the emerging art this prize makes possible.In the 1970s as a Planned Parenthood trustee, she escorted troubled young women through crowds of protesters.
She worked for the benefit of exotic animals and brought education programs to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.
Her work on behalf of California lettuce field workers led to a friendship with union leader
Cesar Chavez .Early life
She grew up in largely Jewish South Avondale, Ohio where her family owned Bilker's, a successful family-owned neighborhood delicatessen.
She attended classes at Avondale School, is a graduate of
Walnut Hills High School and holds a B.A. in Economics (class of 1960) fromThe University of Cincinnati .Career
Lois made her career working closely with her husband at their family owned publishing business, F&W Publications [http://www.fwpublications.com/whoweare.asp] for over 40 years. Her husband ran the publishing end of specialty books and magazines, and she edited "Story", a magazine focused on new fiction. The Rosenthals sold the business in December 1999 to concentrate on their charitable foundation.
Life Facts
Birthplace: Cincinnati.Residence: Hyde Park.Family: Married to Richard Rosenthal; daughter, Jennie Rosenthal Berliant, Cincinnati; son, David Rosenthal, Cincinnati; four grandchildren, 6 years to 14 years.Education: University of Cincinnati, bachelor of arts with major in economics (1960).Occupation: Author, Publisher, Arts & Humanities Philanthropist, Community volunteer.Awards: National Magazine Award, 1992 and 1995 (finalist five times), YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year (1999).
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
