Hunter College, a leader among city institutions in combating anti-Semitism, has received a $2 million gift from philanthropists Larry and Klara Silverstein to create the Silverstein Chair in Jewish Studies, President Jennifer J. Raab announced.
Hunter also named Professor Leah Garrett, the director of its Jewish Studies Program/Center, as the inaugural Silverstein chair.
“We are thrilled to receive this significant gift from these truly generous friends of Hunter, who have been with us every step of the way of my 22-year tenure,” President Raab said. “Under Leah Garrett’s leadership, this funding will deepen the impact of our Jewish Studies Center, which has been so successful at engaging students of all faiths with vibrant courses and fascinating extra-curricular programming. The more students understand the contributions of Jewish culture and the horrors of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, the more we can ensure that history does not repeat itself. We hope to serve as an example of what can be done on other CUNY campuses.”
Klara Silverstein ’54, MA ’56, a former Hunter College Foundation Board chair, praised President Raab’s leadership.
“We’ve been so pleased to participate in President Raab’s restoration of Hunter as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of CUNY,” she said. “It’s our privilege to support a chair of Jewish Studies, which has flowered under her stewardship.”
The Silversteins have given more than $5 million to Hunter, including endowing the Larry and Klara Silverstein Student Success Center on the seventh floor of the Leon and Toby Cooperman Library.
