Two JDC Archives Fellowships Inaugurated and Fellowship Awards Announced
The JDC Archives is delighted to announce the establishment of two new fellowships to assist scholars interested in conducting research in the JDC Archives. Each of two new Fellowships will award one fellowship each year to a deserving scholar engaged in graduate level, post-doctoral, or independent study to conduct research in the JDC Archives.
The Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin/JDC Archives Fellowship was established in late 2015 and made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin, supporters of JDC who have deep roots in the field of higher education, as well as a long time commitment to academic research and scholarship.
Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin
Dr. Sorrell Chesin has dedicated his career to the advancement of higher education. His long tenure at the State University of New York at Albany (1965-2013) included serving as Executive Director of the University of Albany Foundation. Dr. Chesin continues his involvement with the University as the President of the Board of Directors of the UAlbany Emeritus Center, an association of over 700 retired faculty, administrators, and professionals who were granted emeritus status.
Lorraine Chesin began her career in arts education before transitioning to the field of social work. She served in administrative positions at the Rensselaer County Department of Mental Health in Troy, NY for many years, retiring as Commissioner. Since her retirement in 2002, Lorraine Chesin has pursued her longtime interest in art and has presented her work in many exhibitions.
“Because we both have had a good education, meaningful careers, and a satisfying life together, we want to share our good fortune to further your education. We have valued hard work, perseverance, and exploration and are committed to encourage and reward the continuation of these values.”
The recipient of the Sorrell and Lorraine Chesin/JDC Archives Fellowship for 2016 is Dr. Michal Frankl, a distinguished scholar and museum curator from Prague, Czech Republic whose research focuses on Citizens of the No Man’s Land: transformations of citizenship in East-Central Europe and the roles and policies of Jewish aid organizations.
A second new fellowship, The Martin and Rhoda Safer/JDC Archives Fellowship, established in early 2016, was made possible by a generous gift from the family of Brian and Fae Safer in loving memory of his parents, to recognize the importance of the educational efforts of the JDC. We are pleased to announce that the 2016 recipient of the Martin and Rhoda Safer/ JDC Archives Fellowship is Luca Fenoglio, a young scholar from Italy who recently submitted his PhD dissertation at the University of Edinburgh. The topic of his research is “The Jewish Comité d’Aide Aux Refugiés in Nice and Jewish self-help in Axis-occupied France.”
Other fellowships recently awarded by the JDC Archives are the Fred and Ellen Lewis/ JDC Archives Fellowship to Dr. Mary Cox of Oxford University and Dr. Glen Dynner of Sarah Lawrence College. Cox will research the JDC’s role in feeding civilians living in Vienna after the First World War, and Dynner will conduct research on Jewish traditionalism in Poland during the interwar and Holocaust periods, including the support and rescue of Orthodox Jews by the JDC. The 2016 recipient of the Ruth and David Musher/JDC Archives Fellowship is Dr. Natan Meir of Portland State University for his research on the Jewish destitute, disabled, and dispossessed of Eastern Europe.
