February 2025 Newsletter
Dear Jewish Studies students,
We hope your spring semester got off to a great start. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve been up to in January and February and what’s on the horizon.
January Recap
The semester kicked off on January 21st and it was great to see so many of you back on campus!
On January 27th, in collaboration with the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, we commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The featured presentation, Liberating Auschwitz, Investigating the Crime by Dr. Shelly Cline, historian and Director of Education at MCHE brought 60 people to the KU Edwards campus with over 250 online viewers.
The following day, January 29th, we hosted our biannual Jewish Studies Open House. We were honored with a visit from Dean Arash Mafi who presented Jewish Studies Administrative Associate, Tyra Kalman, with the Employee of the Month Award for the University of Kansas!
What’s Happening in Jewish Studies?
February brought three finalists to campus for the Robert M. Beren Associate/Assistant Professor in Jewish Studies. Thank you to all who welcomed these candidates to campus and participated in the interviews, research presentations, and teaching demonstrations. We hope to announce the new hire in the coming weeks.
Here’s a brief look at the candidates and their scholarship:
Dr. Samantha Cooper is from the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of Jewish American history and culture, and American music. Dr. Saul Zaritt, is an Associate Professor of Yiddish Literature at Harvard University. His expertise is in Yiddish language and literature, Jewish-American literature and culture, and translation. Mr. Jacob Morrow-Spitzer, a PhD candidate at Yale University, is a scholar of Modern Jewish History, specializing in modern Jewish American history, Jewish experience in the US, citizenship, race, and immigration.
February events: Hopefully you’ll be reading this newsletter with a slice of pizza in hand! The Jewish Studies Pizza Pop-Up happens today, February 28th! Stop by between 12-2PM, 4017 Wescoe, grab a slice, and connect with faculty and fellow students. We miss you!
Looking Ahead to March
Women’s Hoops Classic with KU Hillel happens this Sunday, March 2nd and Jewish Studies has five tickets for those who want to attend! Head to Hillel for brunch at 1PM, the game begins at 3PM. If you’d like Jewish Studies to reserve a ticket for you, email Tyra Kalman before 4PM this Friday!
Advising begins on March 6th, so as you plan for the upcoming semester be sure to check your DPR and schedule time with your advisor (if you are a Jewish Studies major your academic advisor is JD Smith - jdsmith@ku.edu). Enrollment for Fall 2025 classes begins on March 28th—time to start thinking about what you want to take!
Join us on March 12th from 5:15–6:30 PM at the Jayhawk Welcome Center (1266 Oread Ave.) for Mocktails & Mingle: International Careers. This is a great chance to network with the University Career Center and KU Alumni Association and explore career opportunities with an international focus.
On March 13th from 11:00AM – 1:00PM, we’ll celebrate Pi Day & Purim (one day early because we know many of you will leave for Spring break on Friday). Enjoy a slice of delicious pie from Ladybird Diner and Kehilath Israel Synagogue hamantaschen.
Save the Date
Join us on Monday, April 28th at 1PM with our partners in community education, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, for the 2025 State of Kansas Holocaust Commemoration. This event will be held at the Topeka Civic Theatre in Topeka, Kansas and will feature a proclamation by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and a presentation by Dr. Lindsay MacNeil, historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, who will speak about the lost community of Eyshishok. Registration is requested. For more information and to register visit: https://mchekc.org/kansas-holocaust-commemoration/.
Study Abroad Opportunity Summer 2025
Oranim College (Israel) and the University of Cincinnati bring you “Building Bridges and Connecting Communities: Leadership and Diversity in the 21st Century: Shared Society in Israel and the Galilee”, June 15 - June 30, 2025, Oranim College, Israel. Oranim International, in partnership with UC International, invites applications for a new immersive undergraduate program on modern Israel and the rich history and diverse cultures of the Galilee, with a focus on equity, inclusion, and democracy. Co-taught by Oranim and University of Cincinnati faculty, the program is based at Oranim College, located in northern Israel on the outskirts of the city of Haifa. Core classes include Contemporary Israel, Commiteites of the Galilee, and Leadership for Social Change and Shared Society. Other program components include weekly electives, meetings with Galilee activists and thought leaders from different walks of life, and field trips to Galilee historical sites, towns, and cities (Tiberias, Nazareth, Safed).
Tuition: $2,750 USD / 5 credits and includes academic instruction, housing, lunch (Sunday to Friday), field trips, transportation to/from planned activities, and an official transcript upon completion of the program. Participants will lodge in Oranim's dormitories. Students are responsible for their own international travel to/from Israel. See Oranim International School website for info on travel grants and tuition scholarships. Application Deadline: March 16, 2025.
Faculty news
Shelly Cline, Holocaust historian, presented “Remembering the Past, Beginning Anew: Holocaust Survivors’ Journey in Kansas City” for the Dorothy Stein Earnest Colloquium in Jewish Studies on February 14th.
Shabbat shalom to those who observe, and we’ll see you soon!
KU Jewish Studies