Following is an excerpt of the biographical honoree citation read by Hunter College President Jennifer Raab at the May 2004 commencement exercises, when Evelyn H. Lauder received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.
Evelyn H. Lauder was a woman of extraordinary accomplishments in business, philanthropy, and life.
Born in Vienna, Austria, she survived the London blitz of World War II, and moved to New York as a child. A graduate of both Hunter High School (1954) and Hunter College (1958), Evelyn met her husband, Leonard A. Lauder, while attending Hunter. After graduation, she became a schoolteacher, until her husband and his family proposed her to work for the family company.
Evelyn joined Estée Lauder in the late 1950s when it was a growing cosmetics company founded by her extraordinary mother-in-law, Mrs. Estée Lauder.
Bringing to business what she learned as an anthropology major at Hunter, Evelyn did her field research behind department store beauty counters, chatting with customers and keeping an eye on the competition. She also used her skills as a teacher, becoming the company’s first director of training. Evelyn had not only a head for business, but also a nose for perfume. Under her guidance, Estée Lauder fragrances became bestsellers.
In 1992, Evelyn Lauder turned to the fight against breast cancer, launching The Estée Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Campaign and co-creating the pink ribbon. A year later, in 1993, she founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world’s most promising research. Since then, BCRF has become the largest private funder of breast cancer research in the world. Evelyn even turned her art to this cause, publishing a book of exquisite nature photographs and donating all royalties to BCRF.
In her passion for work and for people, and her tenacity in rallying scientific research and public support to advocate for women’s health, Evelyn has truly personified the Hunter motto, mihi cura futuri – demonstrating how essential it is to care for the future. It gives Hunter great pride to honor Evelyn Hausner Lauder.
