Haverford HS Inducting Six Into Inaugural Alumni Hall Of Fame Class

Many schools have athletic halls of fame that celebrate the physical prowess of their alumni. But the School District of Haverford Township is breaking away from the athletics focus and honoring its former standout students and staff with an Alumni Hall of Fame, and the first Alumni Hall of Fame class has six Haverford standouts who have gone on to do great things.

The district will hold its inaugural Alumni Hall of Fame ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday Nov. 1 at the Haverford High School, 200 Mill Road, Havertown.

According to the district, the Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes the district’s alumni and staff who have contributed so much to enhance the quality of their community and their profession.

The inaugural class of inductees represent the fields of journalism, medicine, law, business, education and science. The inductees are: Dr. Joseph Schmuckler, teacher 1951-1968; Renee Amoore, Class of 1971; David Hartman, Class of 1968; William Hoeveler, Class of 1944; Debra Knopman, Class of 1971; and William Marimow, Class of 1965.

The day beings at 11:30 a.m. with a light lunch and at a tour of the high school at 12:30 p.m. The induction ceremony will begin at 1:20 p.m. and a reception with the honorees will follow at 2:30 p.m. in the school's West Commons.

Check out the district's full write ups on the six inductees:

William Marimow, 1965
Mr. Marimow is the editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Marimow has twice won the Pulitzer Prize – first, in 1978, for a series of stories written with a partner about criminal violence by Philadelphia police, and in 1985, for investigative reporting about the Philadelphia Police K-9 unit, whose dogs were attacking innocent, unarmed men and women. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard Law School where he studied the First Amendment.

Renee (Ramsey) Amoore, 1971
Ms. Amoore was the first African-American woman to chair the state delegation to the Republican National Convention in 2004 and in 2008 she served as a keynote speaker. She is the founder of the Amoore Group, a service oriented corporation. The Elevator of Achievement: Determination Requires a Choice is a book written by Amoore in which she demonstrates how women can move up the corporate ladder by shaping their own attitudes about success, prejudice, oppression, equality, business, and leadership.

Dr. David Hartman, 1968
Dr. Hartman was the first blind person to graduate from a U.S. Medical School. He is the author of the autobiography, “White Coat, White Cane: The Extraordinary Odyssey of a Blind Physician”, and the subject of a television movie “Journey from Darkness”. Hartman has been recognized for his contributions to the field of mental health and for his service to people with handicaps. He has been practicing psychiatry for 36 years in Virginia.

Debra Knopman, Ph.D., 1971
Dr. Knopman is a principal researcher at the RAND Corporation and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her project work spans a range of topics including long-term water management, policy options for disposition of nuclear waste, governance and funding for U.S. Gulf Coast recovery, and the design of a National Research Fund for Qatar. From 1993 to 1995, Dr. Knopman was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior.

William M. Hoeveler, 1941
William Hoeveler, a graduate of Harvard Law School, was nominated by President Jimmy Carter to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on April 5, 1977. He presided over the trial of deposed Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega and he oversaw 2000 of the hearings in the Elian Gonzalez deportation trial. Additionally, he oversaw landmark litigation on Everglades pollution. Members of the bar in South Florida compared him to President Abraham Lincoln, “He acted like Abe Lincoln, he never raised his voice, and he was a fabulous lawyer, and he as a great trial judge.”

Dr. Joseph Schmuckler
Dr. Joseph Schmuckler was a beloved Haverford High School teacher from 1951-1968. His ability to relate to students with empathy and encouragement combined with his outstanding pedagogical skills led him to become an international leader in science education. He authored and co-authored a number of books and articles, directed primarily to chemical education and the teaching of the sciences. He lectured widely in Europe, Korea and China. Dr. Schmuckler donated his letters and working papers to the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

Image via School District of Haverford Township