Education
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
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Whittier Program Closes the Life Expectancy Gap in Minority and Low-Income Communities
BOSTON, June 29, 2023 (Newswire.com) - In 2011, Whittier Street Health Center raised awareness about the 33-year gap in life expectancy for those living in Roxbury (59.5 years) compared to those living in the Back Bay (92 years), a gentrified neighborhood less than 2 miles from Roxbury. Whittier focused on the "Tale of the Two Cities" and partnered with its patients, community residents and leaders, corporations and public sector partners to raise awareness and to develop programs to close the life expectancy gap. Whittier launched its Boston Health Equity Program in 2012, a system of care for people with chronic illnesses and those at risk that fully integrates innovative community outreach, linkage to social services, wellness support and care coordination with a focus on eliminating health disparities and their associated costs.
A little over a decade later, working with its patients and partners, Whittier has made large strides in improving life expectancy in its service areas by 10 years. The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) released a report on May 11, 2023, and there is a 23-year life expectancy gap between residents in Roxbury and the Back Bay.
On June 21, 2023, Whittier Street Health Center co-hosted a session in partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission and the CHNA-CHIP Collaborative.
The open discussion, led by the Commissioner of the City of Boston's Health Department Dr. Bisola Ojikutu and Whittier's President & CEO Frederica M. Williams, addressed the need for continued and expanded community outreach and education to provide the necessary and comprehensive range of treatment and prevention services to low-income minority and immigrant populations.
Community members attending the event were connected to health resources offered by the City of Boston, including the Boston Health Start Initiative (BHSI), which provides direct support to pregnant and parenting women, children, and families of color. Whittier Street Health Center is a designated BHSI site.
"The recent Health of Boston reports shows that the life expectancy gap of Roxbury residents has shown a slight improvement, but there remains a gap of 23 years when compared to the residents in Back Bay," said Frederica M. Williams, president and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center. "We need to continue our efforts to address the barriers to good health, such as housing, food and economic insecurity while empowering our residents to engage in lifestyle changes and behaviors that will improve their health and quality of life. Having access to prevention, screening and treatment in addition to community investments in the social determinants of health can lead to better health outcomes. We are grateful to all who have supported our Boston Health Equity Program, which was launched in 2012, and look forward to expanding our health equity partnerships so we can continue to close the 23-year life expectancy gap."
About Whittier Street Health Center
Whittier Street Health Center is an independently licensed community healthcare center with a mission to serve as a center of excellence that provides high-quality and accessible healthcare and social services that achieve health equity, social justice and the economic well-being of its diverse populations.
Frederica Williams
President & CEO
events@wshc.org
617-989-3221
Original Source: Whittier Program Closes the Life Expectancy Gap in Minority and Low-Income Communities
