Fordham to construct Center for Jewish Studies

The $1 million was donated by Eugene Shvidler.
The $1 million was donated by Eugene Shvidler. | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Fordham University has announced that it will construct the Center for Jewish Studies.

The announcement was made on the heels of a $1 million gift donated to the university by Eugene Shvidler.

“This is an especially timely gift for an exceedingly important purpose,” Fordham President Joseph McShane said. “The world is seeing a rise in anti-Semitism unprecedented since the end of World War II. Aside from the great scholarly value of a Center for Jewish Studies, it provides a counterweight to bigotry, and a vehicle for ecumenical connections among two great faiths. We thank Mr. Shvidler for his generosity not just to Fordham, but to the intellectual community of which it is a part.”

The gift will go toward the support of Jewish studies at the university and comes after Shvidler’s first donation of $3 million for the establishment of the Shvidler Chair of Judaic studies, which is part of the Department of History, in 2013.

“I commend Fordham’s vision in establishing the Center for Jewish Studies,” Shvidler said. “In supporting the program, I hope to enrich and deepen the understanding of the faith, history and culture of the Jewish people.”