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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Discovery Senior Living Launches LakeHouse Senior Living: Expanding Regional Footprint With Communities Surrounding the Great Lakes
LakeHouse Senior Living
Established to operate a curated portfolio of senior living communities in the Midwest, LakeHouse Senior Living represents the latest regional management company and brand for Discovery Senior Living.
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla., August 11, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Discovery Senior Living ("Discovery") is excited to introduce its latest regional management company, LakeHouse Senior Living ("LakeHouse"). The creation of the company further diversifies Discovery's growing, multi-brand portfolio and establishes a stronghold in the Midwest surrounding the Great Lakes. It also marks another milestone in Discovery's growing regional management company structure, aimed at providing exceptional senior living experiences to a local audience. LakeHouse Senior Living will focus on operating communities in northern Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, western Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, catering to the unique preferences and needs of seniors in this region.
Discovery executed the launch of LakeHouse Senior Living with the commencement of management of numerous new communities, as well as the assimilation of an existing portfolio of communities currently being operated by Discovery in the region.
As one of the operating company subsidiaries of Discovery Senior Living, LakeHouse will operate as a local management company with a full management team and will benefit from the robust support services provided by the Discovery Operational Support Center located at the company's Florida headquarters.
Further bolstering its executive leadership team, Brad Poterack has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the new LakeHouse management company. Poterack brings to the Discovery enterprise more than 25 years of experience as a solution-minded leader with proven success across two dynamic industries. He previously worked in a senior management role at Macy's and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Operations for Enlivant, assisted living communities, a post he occupied since 2019.
"We are excited to introduce LakeHouse Senior Living as our newest regional management company and brand," said Richard J. Hutchinson, CEO of Discovery Senior Living. "This addition represents the continuation in our multi-year strategic efforts to marry the best of customized local community management with the support of a robust and sophisticated business process curated at the parent company level. We are also very excited to have Brad join our executive team and look forward to working with him to learn from his experience, both within and outside of the seniors housing industry, to create tailored senior living solutions for our valued customers."
About Discovery Senior Living
Discovery Senior Living is a family of companies that includes Discovery Management Group, Morada Senior Living, TerraBella Senior Living, LakeHouse Senior Living, Integral Senior Living, Discovery Development Group, Discovery Design Concepts, Discovery Marketing Group, and Discovery At Home. With three decades of experience, the award-winning management team has been developing, building, marketing, and managing diverse senior-living communities across the United States. By leveraging its innovative "Experiential Living" philosophy across a growing portfolio of nearly 300 communities and approximately 30,000 homes in nearly 40 states, Discovery Senior Living is a recognized industry leader for innovation and lifestyle customization and, today, ranks among the five largest U.S. senior living operators.
Contact Information:Heidi LaVanway
Vice President of Marketing
hlavanway@discoverymgt.com
239.301.5330
Original Source: Discovery Senior Living Launches LakeHouse Senior Living: Expanding Regional Footprint With Communities Surrounding the Great Lakes
