Yearly Archives: 2024
Gratz College Launches America’s First Master’s Degree in Antisemitism Studies
PHILADELPHIA, February 22, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Gratz College is launching the first Master of Arts degree program in Antisemitism Studies in the United States in Fall 2024. This ground-breaking program will help fill the vacuum of knowledge about antisemitism across Jewish, non-Jewish, and governmental organizations responsible for generating policy to combat prejudice at a time of unprecedented Jew hatred.
It will:
• Provide an academic home for those seeking to develop both a deep theoretical and practical understanding of antisemitism;
• Help generate new and impactful research on the factors that contribute to growing antisemitism and test interventions that can successfully combat it; and
• Arm educators and practitioners with the most effective antisemitism pedagogy and programming.
Through degree concentrations in teaching, advocacy and research, graduates of this program will be uniquely qualified for prominent careers in education, think tanks, government relations, public policy, and community organizations (Jewish and non-Jewish).
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is eager to see this program take shape:
“We’re seeing a dangerous rise in antisemitism, hatred, and bigotry across our country – and it’s more important than ever that Pennsylvanians be equipped with a thorough knowledge of our shared history and the skills to discern fact from fiction. Gratz College is already renowned for its Holocaust and Genocide Studies programs, and I am encouraged the College is expanding upon that work with a new Master’s degree in Antisemitism Studies. I wish the faculty, staff, and especially the inaugural class of Antisemitism Studies students, great success in their work.”
The program is directed by Dr. Ayal Feinberg, antisemitism studies expert and Director of the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at Gratz College. The program boasts a distinguished interdisciplinary faculty from academia and leading public advocacy organizations. Despite its infancy, the degree has been endorsed by nearly one hundred scholars and public policy experts from around the world. Professor of Political Science at Kalamazoo College R. Amy Elman asserts, “With an emphasis on operationalizing knowledge, informed teaching and ethical advocacy, Gratz’s innovative graduate program fulfills a deep need in countering antisemitism.”
Gratz’s Antisemitism Studies program is also establishing ground-breaking partnerships with the world’s most prominent Jewish organizations and programs to combat antisemitism in the classroom, on campus, and in professional workspaces. In the first such partnership, Gratz and The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History have joined forces to launch the National Education Fellowship on Antisemitism. The aim of this fellowship is to generate and assess paradigm-shifting middle and high school curriculum to reduce Jew-hatred and prejudice more broadly.
As an early adopter of online education, a 128-year history of Jewish learning, and home to the world’s largest graduate program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Gratz is uniquely qualified to take on this necessary and overdue program.
On March 4, 2024, the master’s degree program will kick-off with a series of public lectures, including by scholars serving as affiliate faculty for the program. On April 2, 2024, Dr. Avinoam Patt, inaugural director of NYU’s Center for Study of Antisemitism and the Maurice Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies, will deliver a keynote lecture, titled, "Awake My People": Jewish Responses to Antisemitism in the Modern Period.” Additional talks will take place before the program officially begins in August.
Prospective students eager to start may apply now and take courses as early as March 2024 with electives in Antisemitism Studies already developed as a preview to the program.
Gratz College is grateful to the Isidore and Penny Myers Foundation for generously supporting the launch of the Antisemitism Studies program. Jay Myers, Board Chair, shared: “The Isidore and Penny Myers Foundation, a family foundation guided by Jewish American values, sees great worth in educating future generations about the roots of Antisemitism, and by doing so, working to combat it. This degree program will create scholars who can devote their talent to meet this challenge. Our Foundation is proud to support this work and by so doing, meet our obligation to help repair the world.”
Contact: lcohen@gratz.edu for more information.
Contact Information:Lori Cohen
Director of Marketing and Design
lcohen@gratz.edu
215-635-7300 x182
Original Source: Gratz College Launches America's First Master's Degree in Antisemitism Studies
Brynmor Early Education & Preschool Assumes Operations of the Department of State’s ‘Diplotots’ Child Development Center
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Brynmor Early Education & Preschool will join forces with the U.S. Department of State and the Diplotots Board of Directors to offer high-quality early childhood education at Diplotots, the Department of State’s on-site, employer-sponsored child care center. Beginning July 8th Brynmor at Diplotots will serve children ages six weeks through preschool in full-day, full-year care. Diplotots has operated for more than 30 years with various management partners. Brynmor is honored to lead Diplotots into its next season.
Brynmor will offer full-time, part-time, and drop-in care at Diplotots. Diplotots serves all federal employees and community members and is expanding to serve more children. To enquire about enrollment, please visit our website at https://brynmorearlyed.com/enroll-now/.
“The Board of Directors is excited to bring Brynmor’s family-centered child care approach to the Department of State and surrounding community,” said Diplotots Board President Paige Ellis. “Diplotots has served the community for nearly 30 years, and with Brynmor at the helm, we are confident Diplotots will continue to thrive for decades to come.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Diplotots Board of Directors, the Department of State, and the General Services Administration to provide high-quality child care at Diplotots,” said Brynmor’s founder, Rhian Evans Allvin. “We are committed to the experience each child and family has with our educators and administrative team. Our greatest hope is to nurture creativity and curiosity each day in a joyful, play-based environment. We look forward to bringing those values to Diplotots.”
The Brynmor team has decades of experience designing high-quality early education systems, opening new programs, directing the operations of programs, and bringing the promise of high-quality education to young children across varying income levels.
Brynmor uses HighScope as its curriculum framework. The HighScope Infant-Toddler Curriculum and HighScope Preschool Curriculum are designed based on decades of research on early childhood development. Active learning is at the center of the curriculum. It is the foundation from which young children gain knowledge through their natural play and interactions with the environment, events, their peers and educators.
To learn more about Brynmor, please visit brynmorearlyed.com.
About Brynmor Early Education & Preschool
Brynmor is an early education center and preschool located in Virginia and the District of Columbia. They serve children ages six weeks through five years. Brynmor was founded by Rhian Evans Allvin who has spent her career promoting and advocating for the federal, state, and local systems and structures that lead to high-quality early education for all children and professional careers for early childhood educators. Brynmor is a privately owned business established with the belief that private companies have a responsibility to be a force for good and that the growth of the company must be in partnership with the children and families it serves, the early childhood educators and staff it employs, and the companies and public agencies with whom it partners.
Contact Information:Max Fose
Fose + McKay
max@fosemckay.com
202-285-8885
Original Source: Brynmor Early Education & Preschool Assumes Operations of the Department of State's 'Diplotots' Child Development Center