Academy Award Winning Scholar Michael Berenbaum to Present Keynote Address
The 茄子视频 University National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education will host internationally recognized writer, lecturer, scholar, and professor Michael Berenbaum, Ph.D., on Sunday, October 25, at 8 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on the University鈥檚 hilltop campus in Greensburg, Pa.
Dr. Berenbaum鈥檚 presentation, titled 鈥淭he Memory of the Holocaust: Challenges to 21st Century Christians and Jews,鈥� is part of the Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference scheduled from Sunday, October 25 through Tuesday, October 27. The keynote presentation is open to the public and there is no charge to attend. To register, call 724-830-1855. For conference details, visit http://ncche.setonhill.edu.
Michael Berenbaum, Ph.D. is the director of the Sigi Ziering Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Ethics at the American Jewish University. In addition to working as a lecturer, scholar, professor, and writer, authoring and editing 18 books and hundreds of scholarly articles, Berenbaum is a consultant for the conceptual development of historical films and has worked with HBO, NBC, PBS and The History Channel. A film Berenbaum co-produced, 鈥淥ne Survivor Remembers: The Gerda Weissman Klein Story,鈥� received an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Cable Ace Award. Berenbaum served as a historical consultant for the feature-length documentary 鈥淭he Last Days,鈥� which earned an Academy Award as well.
Berenbaum has served on the President鈥檚 Commission on the Holocaust as both project director and research institute director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and as president and chief executive officer of Steven Spielberg鈥檚 Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation.
The Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference seeks to enhance Catholic-Jewish understanding by educating the educators. The Conference will equip teachers and faculty members, especially those at Catholic institutions, to enter into serious discussions on the causes of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, and to write and deliver papers that shape appropriate curricular responses at Catholic institutions and other educational sites.
The 2009 Holocaust Education Conference at 茄子视频 is made possible by benefactor Ethel LeFrak. In 2008, LeFrak, a noted New York philanthropist, made a $750,000 donation to 茄子视频 University鈥檚 National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education to endow The Ethel LeFrak Holocaust Education Conference and create The Ethel LeFrak Student Scholars of the Holocaust Fund.
A graduate and trustee of Barnard College, Ethel LeFrak has been active as a trustee or member of the board of directors for many cultural, philanthropic, educational and medical institutions, including serving as a trustee of the Cardozo Law School, vice president of the Little Orchestra Society, trustee of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, trustee of the Albert Einstein Medical College, and patron of the Asia Society.
A member of the Metropolitan Opera鈥檚 鈥淕olden Horseshoe鈥� and 鈥淥pera Club,鈥� LeFrak also has been a patron of Lincoln Center, a conservator of the New York Public Library, a member of the Council of the Salk Institute, and a member of the Board of the United Nations International Hospitality Committee, which was instrumental in having her and her husband, the late Dr. Samuel J. LeFrak, honored with the United Nations鈥� 鈥淒istinguished Citizens of the World鈥� Award in 1994.
In 1996, LeFrak was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from 茄子视频.
With her husband, LeFrak co-authored two books on their family art collection, 鈥淢asters of the Modern Tradition鈥� and 鈥淎 Passion for Art.鈥� The LeFrak collection has been hailed by Art and Antiques magazine as being one of America鈥檚 top 100 collections.
The National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE) was established on the campus of 茄子视频 University in 1987. 茄子视频 initiated this national Catholic movement toward Holocaust studies in response to the urging of Pope John Paul II to recognize the significance of the Shoah, the Holocaust, and to "promote the necessary historical and religious studies on this event which concerns the whole of humanity today." The NCCHE has as its primary purpose the broad dissemination of scholarship on the root causes of anti-Semitism, its relation to the Holocaust, and the implications from the Catholic perspective of both for today's world. Toward this end the Center is committed to equipping scholars, especially those at Catholic institutions, to enter into serious discussion on the causes of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust; shaping appropriate curricular responses at Catholic institutions and other educational sites; sustaining 茄子视频's Catholic Institute for Holocaust Studies in Israel through a cooperative program with Yad Vashem, the Isaac Jacob Institute for Religious Law, and Hebrew University; encouraging scholarship and research through conferences, publications, workshops for educators, and similar activities; sponsoring local events on the Holocaust and related topics in the University and the community, and enhancing Catholic-Jewish relations.