Ruth K. Westheimer, who passed away on July 12 at age 96, was not only a cultural changemaker and the nation’s best-known sex educator—she was also a former professor at Lehman College. A Holocaust survivor, in 1956 she emigrated from Israel to New York where she enrolled at The New School, earning a master’s degree in sociology, and then a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. Westheimer came to Lehman in 1970 and taught full-time in the Department of Secondary and Continuing Education, specializing in sex education, until 1977.

That was the year City budget cuts eliminated most untenured faculty positions at CUNY, including hers. Undaunted, Westheimer expanded her educational outreach through her private practice and groundbreaking radio and television shows. Known by then as “Dr. Ruth,” she promoted “sexual literacy” and normalized frank, public discussions of gender and sexuality at a time when such topics were taboo in the media. Well ahead of her time, she also helped to establish the field of media psychology.

In 2001, Lehman awarded Westheimer an honorary doctorate at the College’s thirty-third commencement ceremony.

“Even though twenty-five years have passed since I last taught at Lehman, I still care what the people at Lehman think of me, which is why having this institution confer an honorary degree on me means so very much,” she said in her remarks.

Like many Lehman students, she knew first-hand the challenges of a language barrier, discrimination, and financial hardship. After losing her family and home in the Holocaust, she became an immigrant twice: first moving to what was then Palestine, and then coming to New York speaking almost no English. Having supported herself through school as a maid, she also understood the demands of being a working student, and the feeling of hard-won accomplishment upon graduation.

“Applying, getting accepted, and graduating from Lehman are major strides in the American Dream. But I know you all have a lot more to accomplish,” she told the graduates—noting that success is not about being rich. “It’s about being productive. It’s being useful to our society. It’s being given the opportunity to help others.”