MELROSE PARK, Pa.—A newly established Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at  Gratz College combines three of the college’s fastest-growing academic programs under one roof.  

Under the direction of Dr. Ruth Sandberg, the center will house three programs with overlapping  curricula: Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Human Rights, and Interfaith Leadership. By grouping  the programs together, the center promises to enhance learning opportunities, streamline  programming, and encourage collaboration with academic organizations at other colleges and  universities. 

“All three of these individual programs address human problems that are universal: hatred,  intolerance, inequality, and violence,” Dr. Sandberg said. “In this new center, we can really focus on  educating people so we have less misunderstanding and less ignorance, and, therefore, less hatred  and less violence in the world.” 

The center will allow students enrolled in any of the three programs the flexibility of designing their  own curriculum and cross-registering for courses that fit their individual needs. It also will provide  support for existing resources and programming, such as the biennial Arnold and Esther Tuzman  Memorial Holocaust Teach-in and the Holocaust Oral History Archive, which will remain in the  Tuttleman Library. 

“The most important strength of having a center like this is allowing people to graduate from  programs and have additional skills from the other disciplines,” Dr. Sandberg said. “This is going to  be really appealing to students who have interest in all three programs, or who want their academic  study of these issues to be applicable in the world.” 

Dr. Honour Moore, dean of the college, believes the new center will add more prestige to these  growing programs. Gratz launched its doctoral program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies in 2017;  the Interfaith Leadership and Human Rights programs followed. Together, the three programs have  attracted students from around the globe. Combining them into one center makes sense for students,  faculty, and prospective partners, Dr. Moore said. 

“The center really shows the importance Gratz puts on these topics,” she said. “It makes all three  disciplines more fluid as students will be able to pick and choose the classes that matter most to  them.” 

The decision to establish the Center of Holocaust Studies and Human Rights comes as racial and  religiously motivated crimes are on the rise. The new center gives Gratz a central place to fight against  prejudice in all forms, said Dr. Paul Finkelman, president of Gratz College. 

“This is an enormously exciting opportunity to combine three programs that are consistent with  Gratz’s mission of social justice and the Jewish notion of Tikkun Olam, which is to repair the world,”  Dr. Finkelman said. “The new center will allow students in all three programs to take courses together  as they pursue graduate degrees in the study of Holocaust and Genocide, the study of Human Rights,  or prepare to be leaders facilitating interfaith dialogue.”