National Foundation for Jewish Culture Awards Fellowships, Grants

Ten pre-doctoral fellowships to American graduate students in Jewish Studies, and five grants-in-aid to faculty members teaching and doing research in Jewish Studies have been made by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, it was announced by Rabbi Daniel Jeremy Silver, president of the Foundation. The new grants bring to almost $250000 the grants made by the Foundation over the last decade. The awards were recommended by the Foundation’s Academic Advisory Council, of which Prof. Salo W. Baron of Columbia and Prof. Harry A. Wolfson of Harvard are Honorary Chairmen. In making the announcement of the awards, Rabbi Silver said that the selection of “only 15 grantees from among the more than 120 qualified applicants was a difficult and unhappy task. In many cases, the major reason for turning down an applicant was the lack of sufficient funds. We can only hope that increased funding will be available next year.” Commenting on the ten NFJC Pre-doctoral Fellows, Dr. Silver stated, “They will be a welcome addition to the growing number of well-prepared American scholars needed to fill the college faculty positions in Jewish Studies now opening up throughout the United States.” Subject areas of the projects aided by the grants cover a wide range from ancient to contemporary in many disciplines, including Jewish History, Philosophy, Art, Language and Literature, Sociology, Politics and Rabbinics.