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South Orange-Maplewood School District
Columbia High School
You are here: Home / Our School / Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

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Hall of Fame

Each year the Student council will select an inductee for the CHS Hall of Fame.  The honorees will be chosen from past graduates of the school either through faculty suggestions or from student-generated interest.  The Library will attempt to keep informational folders in the Archives Room on all notable graduates.  The selection, in any academic year, shall be limited to no more than two honorees.

The former graduates that are to be honored should have been role models for other students while they, themselves, were students in CHS.  They should be distinguished in their current fields of endeavor, be leaders in their professions, and have dedication towards the betterment of society.  So that a true assessment of their importance can be made, they should be at the general peak of their careers.  Therefore, they should have graduated 10-25 years prior to their induction.  While this last part is not a requirement, it does serve as a guideline that allows enough time for the honorees to have developed a proven track record that is worthy of emulation by the current student body.

The designations shall be kept a secret known only by the least number of people involved in the selection process of that year.  In the springtime, the honorees will be announced and an all school assembly will be held to:

  • Honor those former students.
  • Induct them into the “Hall of Fame.”
  • Allow them to speak to the students and exhort the audience to also strive for excellence in their lives after CHS.

Lastly, the honorees will be given an inscribed plaque as a souvenir of the day and a duplicate will be put at a place of honor within the school library.

Inductees

Induction Year
Honoree
Career Field
Graduation Year
1985
AMALYA L. KEARSE
FEDERAL JUDGE
1955
ROY SCHEIDER
ACTOR
1950
1986
DREW MIDDLETON
NEWSPAPER REPORTER
1931
1987
MAX WEINBERG
MUSICIAN
1969
1988
ARTHUR BARTNER
MUSIC EDUCATOR & DIRECTOR
1958
JOETTA CLARK
OLYMPIC ATHLETE
1980
1989
ALFRED C. KINSEY*
SEXOLOGIST
1912
ROBERT STENBERG
PYCHOLOGIST
1968
1990
JUDITH VIORST
WRITER
1948
1991
JAMES GERSTENZANG
NEWSPAPER REPORTER
1965
PETER S. CONNOR *
VIETNAM WAR HERO
1950
1992
TERESA WRIGHT
ACTRESS
1938
CAPT. JOHN PAYNE
MILTARY LEADER
1963
1993
LINDA GOTLIEB
WRITER & MOVIE PRODUCER
1956
1994
ELIZABETH SHUE
ACTRESS
1981
ANDREW SHUE
ACTOR
1985
1995
HENRY PRYOR
ATHLETE/EDUCTOR
1943
DR. ORRIN DEVINSKY
NEUROLOGIST
1974
1996
MYRTH YORK
POLITICAL LEADER
1964
MARK BRYANT
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE - BASKETBALL
1984
1997
PETER CROSS
EDUCATOR & CHS COUNSELOR
1954
1998
PETER EISENMAN
ARCHITECT
1950
KEITH NEUMAN *
POLICE OFFICER
1983
1999
LAURYN HILL
MUSICIAN & ACTRESS
1993
2000
ROBERT E. BUTTON
COMMUNICATION EXPERT
1932
2001
ALBERTO L. IBARGUEN
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER
1962
CHARLES K. WILLIAMS
POET & AUTHOR PULITZER PRIZE WINNER
1954
2002
HOWARD LANDER
PUBLISHER
1968
BARBARA RANKIN CHARNES
ENVIRONMENTALIST
1949
2003
JANE MUSKY
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
1972
CHARLES COLEMAN
LAWYER/JUDGE
1983
2004
DONNA MARINO
FILMMAKER
1976
KRISTEN BOWSHER
ATHLETE/ENGINEER
1984
2005
DAVID JAVERBAUM
WRITER/PRODUCER
1989
ROBERT BIANCHI *
ATHLETE/NAVY PILOT
1979
2006
DR. FRANCIS BARNES
EDUCATOR
1967
LEIGH HOWARD STEVEN
MUSICIAN
1971
2007
DR. ERNA SCHNIEDER HOOVER
INVENTOR
1944
DR. YOLANDA TROUBLEFIELD
PHYSICIAN/ATTORNEY
1979
2008
PAUL AUSTER
AUTHOR
1965
MATTHEW COOPER
JOURNALIST
1980
2009
HON. BENJAMIN COHEN
FORMER SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE
1962
JOAN OPPENHEIMER COHEN
SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST
1963
AMY COHEN
WON NATIONAL COURT CASE FOR EQUAL RIGHTS FOR WOMEN IN SCHOOL SPORTS
1988
DAN COHEN
SENIOR COORDINATING PRODUCER ONTHE FOX NEWS CHANNEL
1991
2010
JUSTICE HELEN E. HOENS
NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
1972
ROBERT VERDI
CELEBRITY STYLIST & TELEVISION PERSONALITY
1986
* Posthumous Award

 

Columbia High School

South Orange-Maplewood School District

Contact Info

17 Parker Ave.
Maplewood, NJ 07040

Main Office:
(973) 762-5600

Fax:
(973) 378-7607

School Admins

Title IX Information

Dr. Kevin Gilbert
Asst., Supt., Access & Equity
District Title IX Coordinator
525 Academy Street
Maplewood, NJ 07040
e: kgilbert@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext. 1859

Anti-Bullying Specialists

Dorota Martinez
e: dmartine@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762-5600 ext 1043
f: (973) 378-7607

Michael Loupis
e: mloupis@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762-5600 ext 1044
f: (973) 378-7607

Dr. Kevin Gilbert
Asst., Supt., Access & Equity
District Title IX Coordinator

e: kgilbert@somsd.k12.nj.us
p: (973) 762 - 5600 ext. 1859

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