Letter from the Director: 2025
Welcome!
We are truly excited about the year ahead, filled with courses, lectures, seminars, film screenings, informal talks, and more.
As the newly appointed Interim Director of the Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies, I’m especially enthusiastic about continuing to build the Center together with our exceptional faculty, whose commitment to teaching, mentoring, and research strengthens our program as a dynamic hub for scholarship and dialogue.
I am also pleased to announce that Dr. Gayle Zachmann, Associate Professor of French and Jewish Studies, will serve as Associate Director of the Center. Dr. Roy Holler, Assistant Professor of Israel Studies, has stepped into the role of Undergraduate Coordinator. We are confident he will excel in this position.
We began our fall programming with a thought-provoking lecture by Professor James Loeffler, “How Charlottesville Changed America,” part of our Forum for Fairness in Discourse series.
Our Faculty Seminar series continues to provide a collegial space for sharing research and fostering interdisciplinary conversations.
Looking ahead to spring, we will launch the Bruce Greenberg Series of Lectures in Atlantic, Caribbean, and Latin American Jewish Studies, and the 15th Gainesville Jewish Film Festival.
Make sure you follow us on our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) and check out our YouTube page for recordings of public lectures, Course Previews, and Curator’s Corner. Stay up to date with everything happening at the Shorstein Center by subscribing to our bi-weekly newsletter.
We look forward to seeing you at our events and continuing meaningful conversations about the many fields that make up Jewish Studies.
Warm regards,
Natalia Aleksiun
Harry Rich Professor of Holocaust Studies/European Jewry
Interim Director, Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies