Make a Gift to the Jewish Studies Program
Jewish Studies at UVA exists because of the longstanding partnership between the University and generous alumni and community supporters. Your giving helps advance Jewish Studies at a critical time in the history of the program and the University as a whole. You can direct contributions to a variety of needs. You may choose to enrich student life, to develop curricula, to support faculty research, to endow a lecture series, or to sustain other opportunities. The following initiatives represent a small sampling of current activities based on recent alumni giving. To discuss more, please contact Kolodiz Director of Jewish Studies James Loeffler.
The Nir Family Speaker Series for Jewish Studies
The Nir Family Speaker Series takes place each spring and began in 2014 with the goal of inviting distinguished speakers from around the world to UVA to speak on Israel and Holocaust issues. Aaron Nir (’87) and his family made this gift to offer the University community ongoing exposure to these important issues and to enrich the environment for Jewish Studies at UVA. In the spring of 2021, the series hosted Israeli diplomat Dr. Tal Becker to discuss his diplomatic work with the Abraham Accords and the prospects for Middle East peace. You can learn more about this event here.
Paul and Dorothy Grob Memorial Lecture Series on American Jewish Life
The children of Paul and Dorothy Grob, inspired by their parents’ dedication, have endowed the Paul and Dorothy Grob Memorial Lecture Series at the University of Virginia in their memory. Every spring, the Jewish Studies Program invites an eminent scholar to Charlottesville to deliver a community-wide presentation on important issues relating to Jewish-American life. The scholar also participates in symposia, workshops, and other artistic events with faculty and students in the Jewish Studies Program. The 2020 Grob lecture was held on Oct. 29, 2020, when Professor Ronit Stahl of the University of California, Berkeley spoke on, "Lessons from RBG: Jews and Religious Freedom in America." The 2021 Grob Memorial Lecture was held on April 6, 2021, when Professor Martha Minow, former Dean of Harvard Law School, spoke on, "The Nuremberg Trials at 75: Lessons and Legacies." With over 500 people attending this online event, Professor Minow's talk was a highlight of the UVA spring semester. You can watch the video and read the transcript of the event here.
Deborah Gabry Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Jewish Issues
The University of Virginia's Jewish Studies Program is honored and pleased to host the Deborah Gabry Memorial Lecture Series on Contemporary Jewish Issues, which brings a distinguished scholar to the Grounds each Fall to deliver a lecture to the University community on a contemporary Jewish issue of import. The first lecture in the series was held in the Fall Semester of 2012. The most recent lecture in the series took place at UVA on Thursday, October 24, 2019. The speaker was Dr. Joanna Michlic, Research Fellow at the University of London Centre for Collective Violence, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. She spoke on the resurgence of antisemitism in contemporary Europe.
Make a gift to Jewish Studies at UVA.
