A New Era for Jewish Studies:
Introducing the new Bachelor of Arts Degree
Read more....
The Jews and the Evangelicals Professor Yaakov Ariel explores the multiple dimensions of the Evangelical-Jewish relationship. Read more...
Graduate Student Profile:
Stephanie Gaskill Stephanie Gaskill, a native of Toledo, Ohio, has dedicated the past year to researching black protestants' attitudes toward Israel. Read more...
Undergraduate Student Profile:
Abigail Lewis, '12 Ever since high school, Abigail Lewis knew she wanted to study history. At Carolina, she has pursued research on the history of the Holocaust, focusing on testimonies from French survivors. Read more...
Jewish Studies Certificate Program for Graduate Students A new certificate program for Graduate Students is the first in the state, and provides recognition to Carolina's graduate students who pursue advanced studies in the field of Jewish Studies. Read more...
Private Gifts Provide Grants to Students and Faculty
Read more...
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The Many Contributions of
Graduate Students Graduate students at UNC are an important
component of the learning environment, typically
spending five years in pursuit of their Ph.D. degrees. Read more...
Introduction to Jewish Studies Course Sets Foundation for the New Major This fall, 120 undergraduates are taking
the “Introduction to Jewish Studies” course
taught by Jonathan Boyarin, associate
director for the Center. Read more...

Graduate Student Profile:
Carrie Duncan For as long as Carrie Duncan (Ph.D. candidate,
Religious Studies) can remember, she has
been interested in multicultural interactions,
particularly when these cultures occupy the same
geographic space. Read more...
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Tanenbaum Family Endows Professorship in Jewish History and Culture Babette and Jay Tanenbaum have established a
new distinguished professorship in Jewish Studies,
providing an endowment that will support a tenure track
faculty member who specializes in Jewish history
and culture. Read more....
Van der Horst Fellow Joins Carolina
Professor Flora Cassen, joined Carolina’s
History department this year as the inaugural
JMA and Sonia van der Horst Fellow in Jewish
History and Culture. Read more....
JOINING CAROLINA THIS FALL
Carolina welcomes two new lecturers
this year: Joseph Lam, lecturer in
Biblical Hebrew, comes to UNC from
the University of Chicago. Hanna
Sprintzik, lecturer in Modern Hebrew,
was born in Argentina and grew up
in Israel.
THE CENTER MOVES TO
PETTIGREW HALL
In June, the Carolina Center for
Jewish Studies moved into a new
office space to better accommodate
our faculty, staff, students and
community. We’re now located on
the first floor of historic Pettigrew
Hall, near Franklin Street.
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumnus Howard R. Levine, chairman and CEO of Family Dollar Stores Inc., has created an endowment to support undergraduate and graduate students in Jewish studies at his alma mater. Read more
Grad Student Profile: Ria Van Ryn
What seemed an otherwise unremarkable
November day turned into a deeply meaningful,
perhaps life-changing day for a group of middle
school students, thanks to the efforts of one of
Carolina’s graduate students. The teens, from
B’Nai Shalom Jewish Day School in Greensboro
and Al-Imam School in Raleigh, were meeting
each other for the first time, after months of learning
about each other’s cultures and beliefs from
Maria (Ria) Van Ryn, Ph.D. candidate in UNC’s
Sociology Department. Read moreRuth von Bernuth,
is a new junior faculty member who is based in the Department of Germanic
Languages and Literatures. Her focus on
Germany’s early modern period (15th to 18th
Century) has filled a special academic niche in the German Department, and her new research focus on Yiddish literature is likewise
filling an important curricular need for Jewish Studies. Read more for
Jewish Studies will provide a
crucial and permanent source of
funding for the Center’s director
to use for high-priority initiatives,
including instructional support,
student support, and course
development funding. Samuel
Wisnia, a partner with Goldman Sachs in London, contributed the $100,000 gift through Goldman
Sachs Gives (UK), a donor advised fund established by Goldman Sachs. James Heilpern, an Archaeology
and Religious Studies double major,
is this year’s recipient of the Elsie
Kaplan “Mother” Shapiro ZBT Undergraduate Research and Travel
Grant in Jewish Studies. He will use the $1,000 award to help fund his
senior thesis project on the dating
of ancient synagogues.
With the support of this grant, Heilpern plans to travel to Israel this summer to participate in the
archaeological excavation of the synagogue at Huqoq, under the direction of Professor Jodi Magness.
The short video, produced in 2010, features UNC students, faculty and supporters, all speaking about the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies and the Jewish Studies program at UNC Chapel Hill. View it here:
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