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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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WrkSpot CEO and Founder Raja Epsilon’s Software Improves Hotel Operations
ARCADIA, Calif., March 16, 2023 (Newswire.com) - WrkSpot CEO and Founder Raja Epsilon has created a software program that enhances hotel productivity by connecting teams, integrating operations, and improving guest experiences.
Recent reports show the hotel industry is struggling to manage record-low levels of employee engagement and is still dealing with chronic understaffing post-pandemic. There are two solutions for hotel operations: implementing service optimization software and focusing on employee engagement.
"The hotel industry needs to address employee satisfaction that results in happier customers during their stay in a hotel," Epsilon said. "Work is a happier, healthier and much more productive place if people in all parts of the organization can easily collaborate and communicate, driving employee engagement."
Guest satisfaction is linked to efficiency in hotel operations. According to Hotel Tech Report, service optimization allows hotel staff to collaborate on different tasks and complex projects while being in different parts of the property. Hotels can save approximately $1,500 for every 1,500 guest requests by implementing service optimization software.
While building the WrkSpot platform, business associates asked Epsilon to address hotel labor-management problems in the hotel industry. Through his work experiences, he noticed an invariant in that the success or failure of individuals and teams hinged on communication and collaboration within an organization.
Epsilon's vision for WrkSpot is a direct result of that insight, discovering the difference effective communication across teams can make at organizations of any size. He produced a solution that can "do more with less," driving increased collaboration through communication, scheduling and other challenges in running a hotel business.
"Our solution gives employees the ability to clock in and out, see and manage work assignments, and communicate on the job from their own mobile devices," Epsilon said. "It is a much more efficient way to support their operations."
According to a Skift and Oracle hospitality survey, almost 65% of executives surveyed are thinking about incorporating recent technologies for staff efficiency to attract and retain staff.
"Our software enables real-time task assignment and communications between employees and integrates operations by unifying scheduling, employee management, compliance, and more in one platform," Epsilon said. "This means more of the employees' time and energy is spent on making guests happy."
The hospitality industry provides Epsilon with the opportunity to travel and experience unfamiliar places. "Professionally, it is an industry that is plagued by a plethora of problems relating to employee engagement in the hospitality industry," he said. "These are not problems that have to be accepted as inherent in the industry, and I am excited by the challenge of engaging with them."
Epsilon is a creative technologist with more than 20 years of experience delivering innovative products to startup and enterprise organizations. Prior to creating WrkSpot, he was VP of Engineering at Avetta (formerly PICS Auditing), where his overhaul of legacy systems and scaling of development capabilities played a significant role in the company's acquisition by Norwest Venture Partners. He achieved comparable results as Director of IT at Entertainment Partners, resulting in $500M in revenue in three years, doubling shareholder value.
Epsilon earned a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Saskatchewan, Mathematics from York University in Toronto, and Mathematics from Utkal University in India.
"I have delivered holistic technology solutions on the internet-hardware, auto, entertainment, tax/accounting, and compliance industry," Epsilon said. "There, I honed my skills at enhancing the fundamentals of the art and science involved in making a product successful in the market. You have to acknowledge failures quickly and recalibrate your offerings fast enough to ensure the product is acceptable to your customer."
"I am now seven years into this startup journey, and, with each passing year, I inch closer to fulfilling my dream of building something that will help organizations worldwide promote better internal communication," Epsilon said.
What excites him is "working together with WrkSpot employees like a family to accomplish the WrkSpot vision together, helping employees engage to drive productivity."
About WrkSpot
Founded in 2017, WrkSpot is the developer of a revolutionary software suite for hotel portfolio management that integrates HRIS, operations management, and communication in a single app. By managing and engaging staff, controlling costs, and streamlining operations, and improving compliance and safety, WrkSpot allows hotel managers to avoid being bogged down by the unavoidable details of hotel operations.
To learn more about WrkSpot, please visit https://www.wrkspot.com.
Contact Information:Maria Penaloza
maria.penaloza@newswire.com
Original Source: WrkSpot CEO and Founder Raja Epsilon's Software Improves Hotel Operations
