Jewish Studies

Since the Program for Jewish Studies fund drive was announced this fall it has enjoyed phenomenal success by Harvard standards, raising $2.1 million toward its two-year goal of $15 million. Harvard has established a network of 230 executive committee members to tap the Jewish community nationwide. So far, a $1 million grant from the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation is the largest single donation.

Building upon the University's extensive Judaica collection, the drive's eventual goal is to provide six endowed professorship and scholar programs for the Jewish Studies Center. The six professorships will be in a particular facet of Jewish scholarship and will be worked into existing departments including History, Philosophy, Religion.

Charles Thompson, University development officer, said this week, "Jewish studies is a rapidly growing field in the United States, but there is a severe lack of qualified educational programs that now exist to fill this need."

Harvard has only two endowed professorships in Jewish Studies now and because of this dearth many of the 30 to 40 students who apply to Harvard every year to study Jewish culture are turned away because of a lack of senior professors.