Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 to Honor Sony Entertainment, Inc. CEO Michael Lynton with the Inaugural Order of the Golden Sphinx Award

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, the oldest collegiate club in the United States, announced today it will honor Michael Lynton, CEO, Sony Entertainment, Inc., with the first Order of the Golden Sphinx award at a gala ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental in New York on March 4, 2013.  Graduate Chairman and Grand Sphinx, Andrew Farkas will host the event. To date, co-chairs include: Richard Plepler, Leon and Debra Black, William Lauder, Barry and Mimi Sternlicht, Andrea Olshan, Jamie Dinan and Elizabeth Miller and Bob Pittman and Veronique Choa.

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The Order of the Golden Sphinx- a traditional symbol of the Hasty Pudding Institute –is the highest honor bestowed by the Institute and recognizes individuals in the entertainment industry for their extraordinary contributions to the performing arts.  The recipient represents the Institute's mission to support and foster the performing arts within its membership, at Harvard and the community at large. This award also marks the first time the Hasty Pudding Institute has celebrated an industry leader.  The Hasty Pudding Theatricals is best known for the Man and Woman of the Year Award honoring actors and actresses, most recently Claire Danes and Jason Segel.

"There is no one more deserving of the first Order of the Golden Sphinx than Michael Lynton," said Andrew Farkas, Graduate Chairman, Hasty Pudding Institute.  "Throughout his career he has demonstrated a deep appreciation and dedication to enhancing the arts through both personal commitment and arts education support."

Lynton, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in history and literature from Harvard College and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and currently serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers, embraces the Institute's mission and its valuable contributions to the arts on a local and global stage.  Professionally, in positions at Disney, Pearson plc, Time Warner, AOL and Sony, Lynton has turned that passion into a successful career at various points managing all aspects of the business of books, music, film and television. For nearly a decade, he has served as the Chairman and CEO of movie and television studio Sony Pictures Entertainment and was recently promoted to CEO of Sony Entertainment Inc., adding Sony's music publishing and releasing arms to his oversight of entertainment for the company. Under Lynton's leadership of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the division has been a champion for the arts and education broadly through programs in conjunction with philanthropic organizations, governmental groups and academic institutions. Specifically, Sony Pictures has supported efforts to supplement the arts curriculum in California public schools.  One notable program is, Arts for All, the Los Angeles County Regional Blueprint for Arts Education. This initiative is designed to insure that 1.6 million public school students in Los Angeles County receive a high-quality K-12 education, of which the arts are an intrinsic part of the core curriculum. Sony Pictures helped to establish and continues to support The Culver City High School Academy of Visual and Performing Arts Sony Pictures Media Arts Program and The Front Center Theater Collaborative. Outside of Sony, Lynton is active in additional civic and corporate board positions including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Rand Corporation, Modern Times Group and the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

ABOUT THE HASTY PUDDING INSTITUTE
The Hasty Pudding Institute is a philanthropic society and its mission is to advance the arts and education for community at large.  The Institute is comprised of The Hasty Pudding Club, The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, and The Harvard Krokodiloes. The Hasty Pudding Club is the oldest collegiate club in the United States (boasting 5 U.S. Presidents as members). The Hasty Pudding Theatricals is the third oldest theatrical group in the world, behind only the Comedie-Francaise and The Oberammergau Passion Players. The Theatricals has produced an original, full-length musical farce virtually every year since it's founding with this year's play being its 165th. The Harvard Krokodiloes is amongst the oldest and most distinguished a capella groups in the world.

SOURCE The Hasty Pudding Institute