[wvns] Brandeis receives $15M for Israel studies center
Brandeis University was the beneficiary of a multimillion dollar
donation last week that aims to advance Israel studies on campus.
Brandeis receives $15M for Israel studies center
By Kristin Erekson
Monday June 25 2007
http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/news/?content_id=3274
Lynn Schusterman Schusterman Foundation makes largest single gift
following difficult year at school
On June 15, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
announced that it bestowed $15 million upon Brandeis to establish a
center that will stimulate scholarship and teaching on the Jewish
state's history, language and culture.
The gift – which is one of the largest donations ever received at
Brandeis and the largest single commitment ever made by the
Schusterman foundation – comes at a time when the Waltham university
has been dealing with criticism for inviting former President Jimmy
Carter to the school in January to speak about the Middle East and his
latest book, "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid."
Following the Carter controversy, the Advocate reported that some
major donors – both current and potential – were reconsidering their
gifts, while others had allegedly pulled their funds from the
university. But Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz insists that the
school's financial situation has been on track.
"I think this donation proves that donors have much more faith in us
than some of the people in the media," said Reinharz, speaking to the
Advocate from Morocco. "This is going to be the biggest fundraising
year in the history of Brandeis."
While Reinharz declined to give specific figures on this year's
finances, he noted that last year the university received an all-time
high of more than $81.3 million in cash gifts.
And this latest donation from the Schusterman Foundation is expected
to make Brandeis even more appealing to donors, as the goal of the new
center, which opens in September, is to bring the most qualified
academic scholars to teach graduate-level students and others about
Israel, Reinharz added. The $15 million gift will be matched by donors
recruited by the university in coming years as part of a plan to
create a $30 million endowment for the center by 2015.
"Our aim first and foremost is a scholarly one," Reinharz said. "This
is not going to be an advocacy center, but a center that will bring
knowledge and experience to the whole field of Israel studies. This is
really going to benefit higher education in the United States and
beyond because it will prepare a cadre of scholars who will be
well-versed [on Israel]."
Lynn Schusterman, who spoke to the Advocate from Jerusalem, said she
has been working with Reinharz for the past three years to establish
this center. She added that Brandeis was a clear choice for the
donation because her foundation is pleased with the university's
current work at the Tauber Institute: Summer Institute for Israel Studies.
"We believe that there are a lot of resources that can be drawn
together to create a top quality, robust center," Schusterman said.
The Schusterman foundation is now in the process of looking at other
college locations to build Israel studies centers, including the
University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma.
Added Schusterman: "I think with everything that's going on in the
Middle East, it's very important to educate the next generation of
Israel scholars."
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