Editor's Letter Share Significant Campus Partners T he grand idea of partnerships kept echoing as the new president of Michigan State University recapped the 18-year history of the campus Jewish Studies pro- gram, which has real potential to be a national model. Jewish . Studies is a courseload as well as a specialty, but not a major. Maintaining the tradition of her predecessor, M. Peter McPherson, Lou Anna Simon visited the Southfield offices of the Detroit Jewish News on what she assures will be an annual stop. Simon, then associate provost, was part of the Jewish Studies planning team back in 1988. Our Jan. 19 conversation reaffirmed why administra- tive leadership and understanding on campus is so important to sustaining not Robert A. Sklar only Jewish Studies, but also making Jewish students welcome. MSU has about Editor 3,000 Jewish students; most are from our state. MSU's 2005 reinstatement of faculty-led student study abroad in Israel fits well with the new Michael and Elaine Serling and Friends Endowed Chair in Israel Studies, the sixth such chair in the U.S. Michael Serling is a Birmingham lawyer who leads the MSU Jewish Studies lay advisory board. Jewish Studies enrollment is expected to hit 1,000 by fall with the addition of the Serling chair and a contract professor in Jewish Religious and Philosophical Thought. Simon laid out the six partnerships that give form and texture to Jewish Studies on the East Lansing campus:, • Curriculum. The program hinges study of the two centers of contemporary Jewish life — Israel and America. It doesn't just focus on one or the other. • Approach. The 25 courses tap into the resources of eight departments to create cross-pollinated thought and a less- insular direction. • Teamwork. MSU Hillel, under Executive Director Cindy Hughey, helps add religious, social and political opportunities for Jewish Studies students who want to strengthen their Jewish identity. The JStudies program also teams with Hillel on programming sponsorships. • Diversity. Program participants are Jewish and non-Jewish. Some take individual classes. Others specialize in the pro- gram. But all are drawn by the attraction of studying Jewish history and culture. • Alumni. Without a strong lay advisory board, MSU never could have funded four Jewish Studies chairs to create a facul- ty core, interdisciplinary courses and enrollment growth. • Interfaith. Jewish Studies partners with Muslim Studies for discussions, speakers and other engaging experiences. The goal is to spur real conversation, not just polemics. In sizing up the Jewish Studies-Muslim Studies ties under program heads Kenneth Waltzer and Mohammed Ayoob, I especially liked how Simon didn't dodge the question of Palestinian terror waged against Israel. "We don't avoid the Middle East conflict question:' said Simon, a Christian. "But it's not enough. It's not sufficient to define what we want to do." Jewish and Muslim students debate and argue — and share committee work. Their instructors interact. Together, they raise questions like, "How does a nation develop?" and "How does a nation build an identity?" Together, they overlay the impact of a global economy on the Middle East. Tensions cer- tainly can rise; there's both pro-Palestinian support and Israel advocacy. But the relatively small number of Jewish and Muslim students helps maintain calm on the 34,000-student campus. "If we can figure out a way to have a conversation using cul- tural identities that aren't bound by the geography of the region," Simon said, "we can find maybe some threads that will be academically interesting if not a potential for impact." No Jewish Studies program can be a model without strong international ties. So I was glad to hear Simon, a 1974 doctoral graduate of MSU, share her vision for having international scholars visit MSU to help make the world a better place — certainly a Jewish ideal. "We would be able to have a program where we could invite leaders and aspiring leaders from others countries and have them participate in the kind of Jewish Studies that we have "We don't avoid the Middle East conflict question. But it's not enough. It's not sufficient to dune what we want to do." -Lou Anna Simon, MSU president available, thus extending understanding in a different way',' she said. But that wasn't all. "If I had my grand vision," she continued, "we would have this sort of similar comparative contemporary perspective where you could have the two programs sponsor something at this international outreach, and you could have some of the debate and discussion beyond the political peace process, looking at the economy and a whole range of other things." We all know there's so much more to how university stu- dents shape their worldview of Jews and Zionism than course content and its presentation. Still, that aspect is a crucial com- ponent of student enlightenment on campuses ever embold- ened toward not only Judaism, but also the ancestral home- land of the Jewish people. Yes, President Simon is on to something that matters. El Why is religious diversity and acceptance on campus so essential? 1"- Do you concur with President Simon's view of Jewish Studies? E-mail letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com Your Solid Become a JARC Judaic Volunteer • Enjoy Shabbat Dinner or Shabbat Afternoon at a JARC Home • Share Your Yiddish Memories, Slides of Israel or Jewish Music Talent • Welcome JARC Friends at Your Synagogue ANOTHER SHABBAT SHARING IDEA? LET US KNOW! Call Karen Rosenstein 248.538.6610 x353 Email karenrosenstein@jarc.org Marc Helping people with disabilities be fully included in their community — all through their lives. 30301 Northwestern • Suite 100 Farmington Hills, Mi 48334 www.jarc.org 107059.0} February 16 • 2006 5