Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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CU’s Goldberger Jewish studies program is popular

Dr David Shneer of University of ColoradoBefore it even had a chance to walk, the new CU Jewish Studies Dept. is flying.  “I actually didn’t get it,” said Dr. David Shneer, the director of the fledgling program, about the interest in Jewish studies.

“Let me tell you how interested [students] are,” he continued in front of a group of university and community members at CU’s chancellor’s home.

“When I got here four weeks ago, [Prof. Paul Shankman] handed me a stack of 15 students who were registered in the certificate program. As of today, there are 47.”

With that statement, 80 pairs of hands filled the backyard with fervent applause.

The mid-week gathering officially introduced Shneer and the Rabbi Daniel and Ida Goldberger Jewish Studies Program to the community.

“The Jewish studies program initiative really represents what’s best about a broadly based liberal arts and sciences institution,” said Todd Gleason, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

“And while the campus always invested in the core disciplines, what distinguishes our faculty is their relentless interest in the spaces between the disciplines and the border of their disciplines.”

The Jewish studies certificate program is comprised of direct and indirect classes offered across multiple departments.

“I took Jewish culture, the anthropology of the Holocaust, a philosophy on religion course and Hebrew,” said CU senior Joel Pratt.
The inauguration of a Jewish studies department at CU is bittersweet for him.

“It would have been wonderful to have an opportunity to major in it, but I hope to be in Boulder for another year or two and see where the program is going and build relationships with professors.

“It’s exciting. We’re getting the resources to get on track and build a good program here.”

Sophomore Melissa Zawadzki didn’t even know CU offered a certificate program until recently.

“I just started taking classes to understand my own history and culture.”

Zawadzki comes from an interfaith family; her father emigrated from Puerto Rico to the US bringing with him the Christian holidays.

“My grandfather used to sit in his room in the basement studying the Torah.”

For Zawadzki, learning her history from an academic perspective has helped her define her place in Judaism.

“You don’t hear about the diversity within the Jewish culture, but there’s a huge variety of Jews throughout the world –– Ethiopian, Sephardic. I remember going to Hillel for the first time and getting all these stares because you don’t fit the definition of Jew.

“But when you look at history, there never was a singular definition to begin with.”

Zawadzki is just the kind of student Shneer hopes to reach through the program, which is not comprised solely of Jews.

“We’re going this fall from nine classes to 17 in the spring and 20 next fall.”

But Shneer doesn’t want to stop there. He turned to the universities that are similar to CU in size and scope: UCLA, the University of Illinois and Penn State.

“We have nine faculty in the Jewish studies program –– two full time and seven others who teach a course here and there. UCLA has 24, Illinois has 22 and Penn State has 25 Jewish studies faculty members.

“So we’ve got some work to do. We’ve got some growing to do.”

Before the two-hour event was over, Shneer got his wish: someone from the crowd generously made a matching donation of up to $25,000 to the program.

Whether motivated by the speech or mesmerized by the lox quesadillas, it’s not a bad way to start the New Year.




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