Generous Gift Helps Establish Endowed Professorship at USF
The University of San Francisco has received a generous gift from Anne and Nick Germanacos to support the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice (JSSJ).
The contribution helps establish the Anne and Nick Germanacos Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies Endowed Fund, creating a permanent faculty position dedicated to Jewish studies rooted in social justice.
Anne Germanacos, of San Francisco, the chief architect of the gift, said she wants to support USF, a Jesuit university, because of the innovative work of the established JSSJ program.
“USF’s method of teaching maintains this openness,” said Germanacos. “Students are encouraged to come to their own solutions and answers. They are encouraged to find their way and discover themselves as thinking human beings.”
In 1977, thanks to a gift provided by Mel Swig, USF established the Swig Program in Judaic Studies, the first endowed Jewish studies program at a Catholic university worldwide.
In 2008, the program was renamed the Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice, again setting new ground, this time by becoming the first academic program to formally link these two fields, Catholic or otherwise.
And in 2019 the Swig Program added another cornerstone to their work with Rabbi Camille Shira Angel’s appointment as the school’s new rabbi in residence, the first in USF’s 164-year history. A ninth-generation rabbi, Angel is also a member of USF’s University Ministry.
The new endowed professorship will be dedicated to teaching, conducting active research on contemporary Jewish issues, and developing new initiatives that expand the reach and impact of the Swig Program’s interdisciplinary work on activism, intersectionality, social identity and social in/justice.
Aaron Hahn Tapper, director of JSSJ, said the endowed chair will support JSSJ and USF in profound ways.
“The Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice is deeply grateful to Anne and Nick Germanacos for this pioneering gift,” said Hahn Tapper. “For many years, they have been true partners in our wide-ranging, transformational, and unique educational work. They support our vision to make USF's Jewish studies program a one-of-a-kind program that teaches about the multitudes of Jews and Judaisms in an effort to engage our university community about all marginalized peoples. This endowed chair allows the Swig Program to continue serving at the nexus of interfaith, human rights, and social justice rooted in Jewish traditions.”
Oren Kroll-Zeldin, associate professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, is the inaugural Germanacos Chair.
“This gift ensures that the JSSJ program will continue to be on the vanguard of research and teaching on contemporary Jewish life at a crucial moment for both the university and Jewish communities worldwide. The impact will ripple outward, enriching students, advancing public discourse, and strengthening Jewish communities in dialogue with the world,” said Kroll-Zeldin.
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