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The Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at Penn. (Photo credit: wikicommons\/NMGiovannucci)<\/p>\n The Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at Penn. (Photo credit: wikicommons\/NMGiovannucci)<\/p>\n
The University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Katz Center for Judaic Studies just received a life-changing gift from one of its own.<\/p>\n
The estate of Louise Strauss, a 1982 Penn graduate, is donating $21 million to the school\u2019s Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, the Rare Judaica Acquisitions Endowment Fund in the Penn Libraries and Morris Arboretum & Gardens, the school announced in September.<\/p>\n
Joshua Teplitsky, the Joseph Meyerhoff Chair in Modern Jewish History and Ruth Meltzer Director of the Jewish Studies Program, said there are two components to this gift that will radically expand the capabilities of the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first part is an endowed professorship, and the second part is a separate fund that is dedicated to supporting graduate student training. Those are two complementary ingredients in creating the long-term sustainability of Jewish Studies at Penn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Teplitsky said that the endowed professorship will allow the school to determine what part of Jewish Studies it wants to expand. That professor will be responsible for large lectures and traditional seminars, as well as working with students in research.<\/p>\n
Funds going to supporting graduate student training will also be a huge help for Penn\u2019s Jewish Studies department.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecoming a scholar is a lengthy and heavy process that can be time-consuming, and we expect our graduate students to learn new languages, and that often requires them taking summer courses abroad in specialized places,\u201d Teplitsky said. \u201cSome graduate students, as they work on their dissertations, have to travel to archives around the world, and that can be really pricey. \u2026 I\u2019m really excited. It\u2019s also going to allow graduate student training to not just be a solitary activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Teplitsky said that the gift will also allow the university to start a conference for graduate students in the field of Jewish studies from across the country. The idea is to have an annual meeting in Philadelphia where research will be presented and feedback can be exchanged. This will help expand the field of Jewish studies as a whole, not just at Penn.<\/p>\n
The gift will also enhance the university\u2019s ability to acquire items for its Judaica collections, which will allow the already-acclaimed collection to grow even more, said Penn Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Brigitte Weinsteiger.<\/p>\n
\u201cLouise\u2019s extraordinary gift enables Penn Libraries to grow its rare Judaica Collections in unprecedented ways,\u201d she said. \u201cHer years of volunteering alongside Schottenstein-Jesselson Curator of Judaica Collections Arthur Kiron reflect the same devotion that now lives on in her legacy, advancing our mission to preserve and share Jewish life across time and around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gift will also enhance the Morris Arboretum and Gardens at Penn, although the majority of the donation will be used for Jewish programming.<\/p>\n
Penn President J. Larry Jameson said that this gift will serve to better the university as a whole, as well as the region\u2019s Jewish community.<\/p>\n
\u201cLouise Strauss\u2019 generous legacy gift will have a lasting impact across multiple pillars of Penn\u2019s academic mission,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are grateful for her commitment to provide support that will strengthen our entire community \u2014 from advancing Jewish studies scholarship and preserving rare historical materials to supporting plant science research.\u201d<\/p>\n
Strauss, who graduated in 1982, was a member of the Katz Center Board of Advisors, as was her mother, who also graduated from Penn. This gift, said Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literature and Director of the Katz Center Steven Weitzman, is in line with who Strauss was.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis final act from Louise follows a life of profound generosity, devotion to scholarship and sustained public service,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was a very self-effacing person, but all that she has done to support others is something that deserves to be honored for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n