American Friends of The Hebrew University paid tribute to Ira and Barbara Eichner at a Scopus Award Gala the evening of January 14, 2007 at the Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach. The dinner, co-chaired by Mike and Louise Stein, raised $600,000 towards Hebrew University scholarships. When accepting his award, Mr. Eichner said, "I'm just so happy that we got involved with the university in Israel, and I'm so happy to be an honoree in front of my children and grandchildren."

Ira and Barbara Eichner have maintained a longstanding involvement with Jewish communal causes including the Jewish Federation, Jewish United Fund and King David Society. Ira Eichner is founder of AAR Corporation, the world's leading airline and aerospace after-market company. He served as CEO of AAR Corporation for close to five decades and currently serves as chairman emeritus.

The Eichners reside in Palm Beach and Chicago. Ira Eichner is president of the Palm Beach Country Club, and they are governing members of the Art Institute of Chicago. Married for 54 years, Barbara and Ira Eichner have three daughters, all of whom were present when the Eichners received their award.

The event's keynote speaker, George Will, is a Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post columnist. Mr. Will's speech focused on the various conflicts in the Middle East, explaining that the Arab hostility didn't start in '67 and it won't stop if Israel returns to the '67 borders. He also touched upon the situation in Iraq. "Why did we think it was going to be easy after the regime fall?" he said. "You don't build nations-least of all from afar."

A special video tribute for the Eichners was produced by David Storch, the Eichner family, and AAR Corp.