Robert Pollin Receives the Robert H. Mundheim Medal to the Living Spirit from the New School for Social Research
PERI Co-Director Robert Pollin is the 2025 recipient of The New School for Social Research’s (NSSR) Robert H. Mundheim Medal to the Living Spirit.
The Robert H. Mundheim Medal to the Living Spirit celebrates the intellectual legacy of NSSR as well as the recipient’s dedication to the mission of The New School and embodiment of the university’s traditions through academic and professional accomplishments. The award, established in 2018 with generous support from New School trustee Robert H. Mundheim, revived the Founders’ Medal to the Living Spirit, given during the 1980s and 1990s to honor people who have made profound and transforming contributions to the university. The origin of the medal dates back to the 1930s, when, at an NSSR (then The University in Exile) convocation, Thomas Mann reported that the Nazis had smashed a plaque bearing the inscription “To the Living Spirit” at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). Mann said of this: “There is – at the present time – no home for ‘the living spirit’ in Germany’s universities…I suggest that you faculty take these words and make them your motto, to indicate that the living spirit has found a home in your country.”
The award was presented during the NSSR 2025 Recognition Ceremony, on May 15. Watch the presentation at the link below.