jewish studies jewish studies - Jackson School of International ...

10
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Over the years, thousands of UW students have taken Jewish
Studies courses, and many of their lives have been affected
by their Jewish Studies experience.
Dorothy Becker, B.A./B.S. College of Arts and Sciences
(General Studies) major in Jewish Studies 1979, began her
studies at UW after high school in 1948, then took the next
29 years off to marry and raise a family. In 1977, her college
student daughter, Arlene, urged her
take the “Introduction to Judaism”
course with Deborah Lipschadt and she
was hooked. Two years later, she became
one of the first Jewish Studies majors
to graduate from UW. An active
volunteer for years in many Jewish
community organizations and a founding
member and past president of Congregation
Beth Shalom, she and
husband, Jerry, are now retired and live
half of each year in Seattle and Palm
Springs, CA.
Keith Pickus, M.A. Modern German
History 1988, Ph. D. Modern European
Jewish History 1993, joined the faculty
at Wichita State University in 1995 as
Assistant Professor of modern German
Jewish History; he was promoted to
Associate Professor in 2001. Professor
Pickus also served as graduate program
coordinator for the history deptartment
before moving to the Dean’s office in
2001, where he is currently Associate
Dean. His research focuses on the topic
of religious minorities in 19th century
Germany. His monograph, Constructing Modern Identities:
Jewish University Students in Germany, 1815–1914, was published
in 1999 by Wayne State University Press.
Julie Katz, B.A. Art History, B.S. Nursing 1988, M.Ed. and
B.Lit. (Hebrew) at University of Judaism Los Angeles 1992, a
Seattle native raised in a traditional Jewish home, found the
Jewish Studies Program helped her to mature in Jewish learning
and to gain a broader world perspective in a stimulating
academic environment. After living in Israel for two years and
attending graduate school, she returned to Seattle as director
of education at Congregation Beth Shalom until 1996. She
left to work for the School of Nursing at UW where she is now
the Assistant Dean. Katz continues to serve as a resource in
the Jewish community.
Peter Drury, B.A. Jewish Studies 1989, M.S.W in Child
and Family Therapy at University of Illinois, Master of Divinity
at Yale Divinity School. He was ordained into the Christian
ministry in 1993 and has served as pastor of the recently
merged All Pilgrims Christian Church in Seattle since 1997.
Pastor Drury’s special interests include helping people discern
their sense of call in the world; strategic planning; and biblical
study in which the Bible is looked at seriously, not literally.
He has long felt the Jewish Studies Program helped greatly to
create a foundation for his future educational and spiritual
growth.
“Family Portrait” JHP-Adelson, June #2, MSCUA
University of Washington Libraries, Negative #18800
Galit S. Ezekiel, B.A. Business Administration 1990, was
born in Israel and spoke fluent Hebrew and English by the
time the family moved to the US when she was six. Over the
years, her Hebrew lapsed, but when she planned to spend her
junior year studying in Israel, she enrolled in Modern Hebrew
classes with Professor Naomi Sokoloff. Upon her return, she
became actively involved with Hillel and AIPAC, and always
felt she would connect, professionally, with the Jewish community.
After several years as a professional
fundraiser, she is, today, Director
of Development for Hillel at the UW.
Michael Weingrad, B.A. Yale, M.A.
English 1993 UW, Ph.D. English 1999
UW, is currently the Montague Burton
Fellow in Jewish Studies at the University
of Leeds, UK. Professor Weingrad
teaches courses in modern Jewish literature,
modern Jewish thought, Jewish history
and Jewish-American literature and
Culture. He is currently working on a
book on American Jewish poetry, which
will include studies of Hebrew poetry in
America and of American poets writing
in Israel. Weingrad has been a Fulbright
Fellow Hebrew University in Jerusalem
and a research fellow at the Leo Baeck
Institute in New York City.
Jacob Fenton, B.A. Business Administration
(Marketing and Entrepreneurship)
2001, with a Jewish Studies minor,
found the Jewish Studies Program became
the driving catalyst in making
such a large public university seem small
and intimate. This in turn led to other Jewish affiliations and
connections while at the university (Hillel student president
1998–2000, AIPAC, AEPi, Jewish Federation Alliance). Fenton, now
in the entertainment industry, keeps in touch with many of his
professors, especially Professors Kathie Friedman and Naomi
Sokoloff. They and others still serve as great resources for his
continuing Jewish education. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.
New Research Fund in Jewish Studies
Through the generosity of Seattle Jewish community
member Andy Krasnow, a research fund has been
set up for faculty and advanced graduate students
in the Jewish Studies Program. These funds will
subsidize costs related to the conduct of research,
the presentation and dissemination of research,
and the purchase of special equipment
for a particular Jewish Studies project.
The Jewish Studies Program greatly
appreciates Krasnow’s commitment
to building and sustaining world-class
scholarship in Judaism and Jewish lives
today and throughout history, here
at the University of Washington.
Scenic photograph by Mary Levin, © University Photography