metro

Marking 25 Years

U-M Frankel Center for Judaic Studies
salutes its roots in Detroit.

Yaffa Klugerman
I Special to the Jewish News

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n Ann Arbor, one of the world's
premier locations for Jewish
thought and study flourishes.
And remarkably, it owes much of its
existence to the Metro Detroit Jewish
community.
Its extraordinary history and
accomplishments will be saluted
this month, when the Jean & Samuel
Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at
the University of Michigan will com-
memorate its 25th anniversary.
"Judaic studies at
Michigan now reach-
es undergraduates,
graduate students
and postdoctoral
fellows, and culmi-
nates in the work of
senior scholars at
4
Deborah Dash
the Frankel Institute
Moore
for Advanced
Judaic Studies:' said
Deborah Dash Moore, Frederick G.
L. Huetwell Professor of History and
Frankel Center director. "This is a
remarkable achievement for an aca-
demic program, one that sets Judaic
studies at Michigan apart from almost
every other university in the United
States, making it an undisputed leader."
The 25th anniversary event, "Maize
'n Jews: Celebrating the Jewish
Experience at Michigan:' will be held
Monday, April 28, in Ann Arbor.
One session will focus on Jews in the
American university; the other will be
a conversation with U-M Judaic stud-
ies founders. The event will culminate
with a "Reception and Reflections"
with many prestigious alumni.
"It's an occasion to pause and reflect
on past achieve-
ments:' said Zvi
Gitelman, professor
of political science
and Preston R. Tisch
Professor of Judaic
Studies, "and, more
importantly, assess
Zvi Gitelman
the present to try to
create a better pro-
gram in the future'

An Unlikely Beginning

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22

April 24 • 2014

Even though U-M offered classes
in biblical Hebrew as early as 1890,
such courses were meant primarily
for Christian students preparing for
theological studies. Many years passed
before attitudes changed toward Jews
and Judaism in American society and

Jewish faculty at U-M were positioned
to champion Jewish studies.
That opportunity came in the 1970s,
when Professors Herbert Paper, Edna
Amir Coffin and Gitelman teamed up
with William Haber, former dean of
the College of Literature, Science and
the Arts, to work to create a Judaic
studies program. The group met with
executives at the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, who agreed
to contribute $40,000 to hire a Judaic
studies professor for three years, on
condition that U-M would fund the
position thereafter. The group agreed
and, in 1972, U-M hired the modern
Jewish historian Jehuda Reinharz, later
president of Brandeis University.
Judaic studies saw its most significant
expansion in 1988, when the univer-
sity announced its intention to create
an endowment for Judaic studies and
offered to match contributions dollar-
for-dollar up to $2 million. Samuel
Frankel, a property developer and
Detroit Jewish community benefactor,
and his wife, Jean, agreed to contribute
$1 million, and the Detroit Federation
contributed another $1 million. Thus
the Jean & Samuel Frankel Center for
Judaic Studies was born.
Many faculty members from
throughout the university strongly
supported the Frankel Center, such as
Saul Hymans from the Department
of Economics. The Frankels' gift also
stimulated financial backing from
Jewish U-M alumni, including Preston
Tisch, who endowed a professorship;
Stuart Padnos, who endowed a visit-
ing professorship in memory of his
parents Helen and Louis; Marshall
Weinberg, who donated funds to sup-
port a graduate student prize; and
Hubert and Frances Brandt, who have
continuously given money for student
scholarships.
In later years, the Frankel Center
grew to include chairs in rabbinic lit-
erature and American Jewish studies,
and Judaic studies introduced master's
and graduate certificate programs.
In 2005, the Frankel family endowed
$20 million to establish the Frankel
Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies,
creating the only scholarly program
of its kind at a public university in the
United States.
"No institution and no faculty could
have asked for more engaged and
understanding backers:' Gitelman
said of the Frankel family. "They are
people with a deep commitment to the
advancement of Jewish knowledge and
commitment:'